Of Shadows and Silver
by kronosdragon
Summary: In the years before the feud between red and blue began, there was another war that raged on the battlefields of 2Fort, a war that was kept secret from the outside world. Two factions, Silver and Shadow, fought for more than just the intelligence...
1. Chapter 1

[A/N] Hey guys! I'm back, with a new story for all of you Team Fortress 2 fans! This is rated M for language, violence, and some adult situations later on in the fic. Enjoy!

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"THE ENEMY HAS CAPTURED THE BRIEFCASE!"

The demanding voice of the Announcer boomed over the loudspeakers, echoing through the Silver base. Shadow's Scout was dashing through the halls at a surprising speed, his slim build made for weaving and dodging at high speeds. The flashing lights of the Silver base glinted off his dark glasses as he sped past a Silver Heavy, the burly man charging toward him waving his gatling gun as he let out a bellow of rage. Scout, a mere blur as he burst from the doors of the base, gave out a triumphant yell, charging back to the safety of his team's base. He barely made it halfway across the bridge before another yell caught his attention.

"Duck, boy!"

The Engineer of his team waved his black-painted wrench in a signal to get out of the way as he made one last swing to finish the upgrade of his sentry unit, which immediately began spraying the air with bullets. Scout ducked and rolled to the side as an agonized scream signaled the death of his pursuer. He looked over his shoulder just a moment to see that it had been the enemy Scout tailing him. He chuckled and sped into the base, capturing the intelligence for his team, ending the round for the day. As the ceasefire siren sounded, a disappointed Silver team shook their heads and headed into their base, ignoring the whoops and hollers from the other team.

Team Shadow's members entered their base, walking to the mess hall. Their Heavy and Demoman were both laughing obnoxiously loud all the way down, the large Russian slapping the one-eyed Scotsman on the back, both grinning like there was no tomorrow.

"It has been good day!" Heavy shouted.

"Yeah, not one capture from the Silvas! Does me heart good to know we be winin' another battle, it does!"

"Vill you two gentlemen _please_ calm down?"

The Medic walked into the mess hall, wiping blood off of his bonesaw with a clean cloth, slipping the deadly instrument into his lab coat and tucking the now blood-stained cloth into one of his pockets.

"Come now, leetle Doctor," Heavy said, his voice dropping into a slightly disappointed tone. "Surely you are excited about 4 day winning streak too?"

"Nein, nor vill I ever be excited about any number of vins ve may 'ave."

"Oh come on, Doc," Scout said wrapping his arm around the Medic's neck, forcing the tall man to bend forward slightly to meet his height. "Stop being such a sourpuss, you're ruining the mood."

Scout took his arm off the Medic's shoulders, the man straightening back to his full height, adjusting the collar of his lab coat, which had been flipped up from the Scout's actions.

"Hmph."

He simply sat down in the chair marked with his emblem, frowning slightly as he fixed his glasses. Scout sat down next to Heavy, taking off his sunglasses and tucking them away. Well, technically, they had belonged to his brother, who he was now filling in for since he had been…_discharged_ from the team. Scout's eyes were drawn toward the door as Sniper walked in, rubbing the back of his sunburned neck.

"Oi, that sun was a real killer today. Tha'll be the _last_ time I let you guys perch me on top a' the roof like some bloody bird."

Scout chuckled and poked him in the ribs as he sat down beside him.

"Aww, quit your whining ya' big baby, we won didn't we? And you didn't have one respawn."

"Aye, but I'd like t'see _you_ sit up on a hot tin roof with the sun beatin' down on ya' all day," Sniper said, scowling. Sniper swung his bat off his shoulders and set it down on the floor next to him.

"Hey man, you know I'm just kiddin' with ya'. No need to get feisty."

"I suggest zat you leave Sniper alone, boy," came a voice directly behind him. Scout wheeled around swung his arm up in surprise, his chair falling to the floor with a loud clatter, his sneakers squeaking on the tile. His fist came within inches of the Shadow Spy's face before his wrist was snatched in mid swing.

"_Shit_ Spy, I told you to stop doing that!" Scout breathed, his face flushing a light shade of red as a twinge of anger rose up in him. Spy just chuckled and released Scout's hand, letting the boy bend down to pick up his chair.

"You would do ze same if you had my technology," Spy said, grinning. He straightened his black tie and suit jacket as he watched Scout glare at him.

"Yeah but, you know, I actually asked you _nicely_ for once. Least you can do is keep from giving me a heart attack. I'm too young for that shit."

"Whatever you say, _monsieur_."

Scout shook his head as Spy laughed at him. He looked around.

"Hey, where'd Hardhat go? I need to thank him for savin' my ass on the bridge."

"I vould assume he is in 'is vorkshop," Medic said, having turned around in his seat, watching the others.

"I thought he was cooking tonight."

"Nein, that vould be -"

"Hudda!"

Pyro walked in through the entrance and immediately headed back to the kitchen, shoving his gloved hands into the sink and immediately started scrubbing the gore off of the rubber. He wasted no time firing up the stove with a flick of his wrist, whirling around to the walk-in freezer and coming out with his arms full of various things. Engineer walked in shortly after Pyro threw a couple of skillets on the range, shoving a turkey into the oven and adjusting the heat.

"Wait…Uh, I thought _I_ was cooking tonight…"

Everyone gave him a look that told him to shut his trap and he instantly got the message. He took off his goggles sheepishly, hanging them around his neck as he sat down next to Medic.

"Just enjoy the time off, Engineer," Medic said, giving him a wry smirk. Engie returned the gesture and watched as Pyro started mixing cream and some kind of thickener with various spices, making some sort of sauce. Nobody complained when Pyro was cooking. There was no question that he was the best chef out of all of them. Even Spy couldn't turn his nose up at his creations.

Pyro went over the various steps to this dish in her head. She wished so badly that she could brush her black bangs out of her face, but that would require her to remove her mask, exposing her gender to the others, which would be a bad idea. Soldier was very idealistic when it came to women fighting, and he would often talk about his ideals. Some agreed with him, but others, like Scout, Sniper, Spy and Heavy disagreed. Demo seemed indifferent about the whole thing, along with Engineer, agreeing with some aspects but disagreeing with others. Medic agreed with Soldier that women should not fight, that their place is behind the men. Pyro disliked him for it, but she had to admit that he was, indeed, a great fighter. Speaking of whom, the Soldier hadn't shown up yet.

"Hudda hurr hudda haa?"

_Damn this mask…_

Medic looked at him and shrugged.

"'e is alvays late to dinner."

This wasn't entirely true. He was late when Engineer or Heavy were cooking, but he was usually very punctual. Pyro raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. At that moment, Soldier chose to stroll through the doorway, looking a little confused when he saw Pyro behind the stove instead of Engineer. He decided not to say anything, wondering how they managed to get Pyro to cook instead of Engie. Not that he was complaining.

"That was a good hustle out there, soldiers!" he said, taking his seat between Demo and Medic.

"Yeah it was! Oh, hey Engie! Thanks for savin' my ass back there!" Scout said, grinning.

"Naw, t'was nothing'," Engie said with a tip of his hat, smiling. "Jus' doin' mah job."

Pyro pulled the turkey out of the oven and quickly sliced it up. She knew how Heavy loved his sandwiches, so she set some of the hot turkey aside, along with rye bread and other sandwich fixins. She knew exactly what he wanted and how he wanted it, which made him look forward to the nights when she cooked. She quietly listened to the babble of her teammates behind the counter looking into the kitchen. She caught little snatches of conversation. Solly was going on about how they did well, but needed to do better next time to make sure they get the intel without losing a single man. Scout, as usual, rained on his parade by reminding him of the fact that they respawn every time they're killed, eliciting quiet chuckles from those near him.

Pyro couldn't help but smile when she thought of the bold Boston boy. She fancied him. He was the only one aside from Sniper who would help her out when she first arrived here. He was a complete knuckle head with a tough attitude, and he was absolutely ruthless in battle, but he had his times when he could be friendly and not-so-annoying. Pyro thought about how Sniper had saved her a couple of times from an enemy that would sneak up behind her. She liked the rugged bushman. He was quiet, keeping mostly to himself. He had his moments, like now as he was talking to Demo and Scout, where he was sociable and let his personality show. Pyro thought he was rather handsome with his aviators and slouch hat.

She chuckled softly as she finished cooking. It was a favorite pastime of hers, and even when there was no one in the mass hall, she would often fix herself a small treat. Despite her love for cooking, the constant activity of fighting on a daily basis, except on weekends and holidays, kept her in prime condition. She had a slimmer suit when compared to that of the Silver Pyro, yet she still didn't quite fill it out. She had a very strong upper body from hauling the heavy flamethrower around, but she wasn't buff. She did have a very well-defined core though, and sometimes wished that she could show off her strong abs, but she knew that would be a bad idea. One look at her shapely hips and waist would tip them off to her gender.

She plated the food and skillfully fixed Heavy's precious sandwich. They were having roast turkey in a light gravy sauce, flavored with a little bit of cayenne pepper and other herbs. She chuckled as she started passing the plates down from one end of the table to the other, listening to Heavy mumble, "Not sandvich…Not sandvich…Not sandvich" as he passed the plates down. He gave a wide grin and exclaimed, "Sandvich!" when he finally got his plate, immediately digging into it and giving Pyro a thumbs-up. "Da, is good!"

Pyro picked up her own plate and headed back to her room.

"Hey Pyro! Where're you goin', man? Eat with us for a change!" Scout called after her.

She smiled, glad that the mask could hide the sadness in her eyes. As much as she wished she could, she couldn't eat without taking off the mask, and that was something she simply could not do in public. So, she turned slightly and shook her head before leaving the mass hall and to her room.

Scout turned to Sniper.

"How come he never eats with us? What's he got under that mask that he doesn't want us to see? You think maybe he has some horrible scars or something?"

"Do ya' ever shut up, mate? Who says he's hidin' anything? Maybe he jus' wants to get away from your blabbermouth for once. Besides, I eat alone every now and then, too."

"Yeah, 'now and then,' not every day. I'm gonna' go try an' talk him into sitting with people for once."

"I dunno, mate, might not be a good -"

But Scout was already up with his plate in tow. He headed off toward Pyro's room.

Pyro sat on her bed, quietly eating, her mask laying on the bed beside her, eerily lifeless. She had brushed her bangs aside, her dark, spiky hair flared out in the back where the hairs were tipped with red, while her bangs were long and sometimes troublesome. She looked down at her food, her dark brown eyes gazing at the food, loneliness apparent in her features. She enjoyed the company of the others, even Soldier to some extent. She didn't like sitting and eating alone while the others conversed over dinner like a real team or family.

_Family…_

She hadn't seen hers since she'd come here. It was lonely without her sisters around to keep her entertained with their playful antics. She picked idly at her food, mechanically raising bites of food to her mouth and eating them without really tasting it. Her mind was elsewhere, her eyes looking down at her plate yet not really seeing it. She was painfully reminded of the present when her door swung inward.

"Hey Pyro, just thought I -"

Scout's jaw dropped as Pyro's eyes met his in a flash of movement. He lost his grip on the plate and it clattered to the floor. Pyro's mind was racing.

_SHIT! SHIT FUCK DAMMIT! What the hell do I do?_

"Uh…"

That was all she could get out of her mouth before Scout blurted out, "YOU'RE A _GIRL_?"

"Shush!"

She leaped up and closed the door behind him, glaring at him.

"I didn't want anyone to know, loudmouth."

"Wow, you sound a lot different without the mask…"

"Did you hear me?"

"Yeah I heard ya', who wouldn't?"

Pyro sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Listen, don't tell anyone about this, alright? Please? You know how Soldier is, and if he ever found out, I might get discharged…"

Scout flinched at her words and rubbed a hand over his face.

"I'm sorry, I'm still getting over the fact that you're a girl. _That_ explains _everything_. You don't want to eat with us because you have to take off your mask to eat, and taking off your mask means -"

"Yeah, I know, I'm the one who's been doing this, remember?"

"Hey, sorry man," Scout said, throwing his hands up defensively. "I just can't believe we've had a girl on our side this whole time. And here I thought you always wore that mask to hide some hideous scar or something."

"Just please promise me you won't tell anyone," Pyro said, giving Scout a pleading look.

He couldn't say no to those big brown eyes, they were too pretty to be seen dull and lifeless, as they would be if the team rejected her. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, alright, I promise."

"Thank you."

Pyro smiled and gave him a warm hug. Scout felt a slight blush rise to his face.

_Wow, being hugged by a girl feels nice. She's not half-bad looking either._

Pyro let him go and walked over to the closet, pulling out a towel and tossing it to him.

"Do me a favor and clean up your mess, will ya'?" she said, pointing to the plate he dropped. Scout rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. Say," he began, stooping down to clean up his mess, "you don't look like much. I expected you to look a bit more burley, since you lug that huge ass flamethrower around. How do you manage?"

"Like this."

Without missing a beat, she raised the flamethrower with one arm, pointing it at Scout's head. She smirked when she saw him begin to sweat.

"H-Hey man, we're on the same team!" he said, staring straight down the foul-smelling gas tube with a dragon's head mounted over the opening.

"You wanna' make another crack at how women must be weaker than men because we 'don't look like much?'"

"I'm sorry!" he said hastily, slowly backing away. She flicked the igniter, the blue flame bursting to life, making Scout's face glow in its light. Scout stopped and looked up at her.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again," he said as calmly as he could.

"That sounds about right."

Pyro flicked off the igniter and put her treasured weapon away. Scout breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was _not_ cool," he said, picking up what was left of the mess on the floor.

"I'm a Pyro. I'm not supposed to be cool."

"Pssh…"

Scout sat down next to her on the bed.

"Don't you ever get lonely? I mean, you are up here all by yourself all the time. Like, I get the reason behind it. I wouldn't want to be stuck inside that suit all day either, but it has to get pretty boring."

"Boring, yes. Lonely, maybe. But I entertain myself by burning things every now and then."

She put on her best evil grin.

"Hats burn real well, especially when they're still on someone's head."

Scout screwed up his face in a disgusted expression. "You are twisted."

"I know, right?"

Pyro chuckled to herself and gave Scout a playful punch on the arm.

"Well, hey, looks like you and I are gonna' be real good friends, yeah? Don't want anything _bad_ to happen to ya' out there on the field."

"I get it, alright? I'll keep my trap shut."

"Good. Especially with Spy hanging around. You can't be too careful."

"Yeah, I can't trust him as far as I can throw him."

"I know, he creeps -"

There came a knock on the door.

"Oi! Scout! Leave the guy alone if 'e wants t'be left alone!"

"Shut up _mom_. We're gettin' along just fine!"

The door started to creak open, and Pyro's heart started to thump in her chest. She reflexively grabbed her mask and threw it on, pulling up the top of the suit over her shoulders and putting her gloves back on in a flurry of motion, managing to get the last glove on as Sniper poked his head in. Scout looked at him with a frown on his face.

"The hell, man? Can't you at least ask before you come in?"

"What're you two doing in here?"

"Just talkin', mother, what's it to you?"

Sniper sighed and withdrew from the doorway, pulling the door shut with him.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were tryin' t'hide somethin'."

The door clicked shut and Pyro breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hurr hudda huh."

"…What?"

Pyro sighed against and pulled the mask over her head, laying it in her lap.

"I said, that was close."

"Yeah, I'll say. That guy doesn't know how to knock any more than Spy does. At least Engie has the decency to give you fair warning when he's coming in."

Pyro chuckled softly.

"If I recall correctly, _you_ didn't knock either."

"Well, if you weren't so keen to eat up here all by yourself, I wouldn't have come looking for you. You don't have to take your mask all the way off to eat, y'know? All you had to show was the bottom part of your face. No one would be the wiser."

"Yeah, then I just have to keep Demo and Heavy from removing my mask. You know how tempted they'll be to pull it off?"

"Just tell them no, I'll watch your back."

"I don't know…"

"Oh come on, if you don't, what if someone else comes up to try and coax you out and finds you the same way I did? What if it ends up being Soldier? Or Medic?"

"Alright, alright, I get the point. I'll try eating with you guys tomorrow. I'll just have to work on perfecting my _manly voice_," she said, deepening her voice to do a perfect impression of Demo's voice.

"Whoa, can you do anyone else's voice?" Scout asked, intrigued by her talent. She laughed.

"Oi, I ain't no sideshow!"

"Great Sniper! You could've been a Spy!" Scout laughed.

"Und give up setting things ablaze? Nien."

"You're killin' me here!" Scout said, slapping his knee.

"What are you laughing at, MAGGOT?" she said, crossing her eyes and giving him a goofy look. This just made him crack up more.

"S-Stop! Stop! Alright! I get it!"

"You better, _monsieur_. Else I will gut you like a fish!"

"I resent zat."

Pyro nearly choked at the sound of the voice. Scout's laughter turned into angry yelling.

"Spy! How the HELL did you get in here?"

Pyro slowly turned to look in the corner of her room, where the air was shimmering. Spy's cloaking device switched off as he was pulling a cigarette out of the case. He flicked open his lighter and lit it, but Pyro leaped up and snatched it from his lips, grinding it out on the back of her glove.

"How dare you!"

Spy looked at her calmly, but a flicker of annoyance lit his eyes as she tossed away the perfectly good cigarette.

"Mademoiselle, please refrain from wasting my -"

"_Monsieur_, please refrain from entering my living quarters _without my permission!_"

Spy grinned and chuckled softly.

"Oh, mademoiselle, little do you know, I've known about your little secret for quite some time now. I was waiting for someone else to figure it out before I revealed my knowledge."

"You son of a bitch. How the hell did you find out?"

"I have my ways, cherie."

Pyro crossed her arms angrily.

"Well, assuming you haven't told anyone else yet, I trust you won't tell anyone in the future, correct? Lest I do a spy check in your general direction tomorrow morning."

Spy gave her a gentlemanly bow.

"My lips are sealed."

"That's what I thought."

Pyro looked away in disgust, while Scout scowled at the black-suited spy. He stood up and jabbed his finger in the Frenchman's chest.

"Hey pal! Who do you think you are?"

"I am ze spy. Who else would I be?"

"You know what I mean, smart ass."

Spy pulled out his cigarette case, but it was quickly snatched from his hand. Pyro tapped her foot and glared at him.

"This room is strictly non-smoking, especially, with Scout in here. He needs to keep his lungs clean, and I would very much like to keep my room smelling less like burnt ass."

She pocketed the case and crossed her arms.

"You'll get this back after you leave."

Spy sighed and leaned against the wall, crossing one leg over the other. Pyro grabbed Scout's shoulder and sat him down beside her on the bed.

"So, how long have you known?"

"Ever since you first arrived," Spy said matter-of-factly.

"What? How?"

"Ze way you presented yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"Only a woman would have ze patience to listen to Soldier rant before stealing his 'elmet and hiding it in Sniper's bunk."

"You saw that?"

"I see many things zat go on around 'ere."

"Dude, that was _you_?" Scout said, wide-eyed.

Pyro grinned.

"Yeah that was me."

"Man! That took some balls! Solly still doesn't know who did it!"

Pyro chuckled.

"Good. Let's keep it that way."

Spy smiled and looked down at his shiny black shoes.

"My suspicions about your gender were confirmed when I spotted you sneaking to the kitchen after everyone had retired to zeir respective rooms. You were in uniform, but your mask was at your side, handy should you hear someone approaching. I must admit, I never zought such a beauty could take on ze mantle of ze Pyro. Per'aps a fiery red-'ead, but not someone like you."

Scout motioned with his hands in a quick gesture to stop, mouthing "No!" over and over again. Spy cleared his throat, seeing the death glare he was getting from Pyro.

"But, ah, not to say you are a treasured part of ze team, mademoiselle, non. You 'ave proven to be ze best Pyro we 'ave had in many long years."

The angry flush in her cheeks subsided at the compliment. She crossed her arms and nodded to him.

"Damn right, I am. Wouldn't be here if I wasn't."

Scout stood up and walked over to Spy, leaning in to his ear as Pyro picked up her plate and picked at her food.

"Hey, man, can I talk to you for a moment outside?"

"Oui, but of course."

"Hey, Pyro, we'll be right back, 'kay?"

Pyro nodded and went back to finishing her semi-cold dinner. Scout led Spy out the door and closed it behind him, walking a little way away from Pyro's room before turning around and leaning in close to his ear.

"Listen, Spy, don't say anything that sounds degrading about women around this chick. She takes offense to anyone thinking that women are inferior in any way. Just watch your tongue, yeah?"

Spy looked down at the Boston boy and tapped his chin, a look of thoughtfulness in his eyes.

"She must 'ave a lot of patience if she can sit and listen to Soldier go on about the subject any time it comes up. She must 'ave so much anger built up behind zat mask when 'e speaks in such a way. No wonder 'er temper flares…She is perfect as a Pyro."

"Yeah, and she don't look half bad, either, eh?" Scout said, nudging Spy in the chest. Spy just adjusted his tie with an unimpressed look on his face.

"If I were you, monsieur, I would refrain from trying anyzing with 'er. We don't want Soldier picking up on 'er scent, nor do we want anyone zinking you are gay, non?"

"Ah, yeah…guess you're right," Scout said, rubbing the back of his neck like an embarrassed schoolboy.

"Now, let us go back and keep the dear company. She 'as had no one she can really spend time with because of 'er _situation difficile_."

"Yeah."

Scout and Spy walked back into Pyro's room, giving a brief warning before they came in. She had finished her dinner and was preparing to take her plate to back to the kitchen, pulling her suit back on and stretching the gas mask over her head. She headed out the door without a word to the two, who simply looked at each other and followed her. She walked back into the mess hall, where several of their teammates were still sitting at the table. She offered her plate to everyone, allowing them to stack their dirty dishes on top of it. She balanced a stack of plates and silverware with a little difficulty, but she managed to get into the kitchen before falling forward. Luckily, she had managed to drop the dishes in the sink before falling. She cracked her chin painfully on the countertop, stars springing up in front of her eyes. Soldier and Demo started laughing, Heavy looking on in concern. Medic shook his head with an exasperated expression on his face. Spy appeared by her side and offered her his hand. She didn't respond at first, which concerned him even more.

"Monsieur Pyro? Are you alright?"

Pyro was still seeing stars, and her chin hurting something fierce. She groaned softly and attempted to push herself up, but she was too dizzy. Medic stood up and walked over to her side, crouching down and looking her over.

"He seems to 'ave hit 'is chin on ze vay down. He vill be alright. Give 'im _eine zweite _to recover."

Medic stood up as Pyro shifted her arms underneath her, moaning through the mask. The dizziness was fading slowly and she managed to sit up, slightly stunned. Lights were flashing in front of her eyes and she had to blink a few times before rubbing her chin through her mask. Her neck hurt, but her chin hurt more. She hoped that it wasn't broken. After popping her jaw back into place, she took Spy's hand and pulled herself up, holding her head and frowning, even though no one could see it. Medic turned her around and looked her in the eyes. He had such a piercing gaze, she thought for a moment he could see right through the dark-tinted lenses of her mask.

"Are you alright, Herr Pyro?"

Pyro nodded and gave a thumbs-up almost too hastily. Medic gave her a curious look, but smiled slightly and nodded before going back to the table. Heavy called from the table, "Is leetle Pyro okay?"

"Hur hudda huh!" Pyro responded, nodding. Heavy gave her a wide grin and smiled.

"Heavy is glad!"

Pyro couldn't help but smile at Heavy, even though he couldn't see it. She liked him. He was usually polite, and he reminded her of a giant teddy bear.

She mumbled a quick thanks before getting started on the dishes. Spy leaned close to her and asked, "Are you really alright, mademoiselle?"

She raised her mask just over her chin, speaking in a hushed tone.

"My chin hurts like hell."

"Should I get ze Medic?"

"I don't know, I don't want him to see my face."

"I can tell 'im zat you do not want to remove your mask"

Pyro sighed.

"Alright, but if he figures it out, I'm going to burn you alive."

"I would expect notzing less," Spy said with a sly smile. "Medic! Would you come here, _s'il vous plaît_?"

The doctor excused himself from the table once again and came back into the kitchen.

"Would you kindly take a look at Pyro's chin? 'E says it is hurting 'im so."

"Ah, I thought so. Alright Pyro, chin up!"

Pyro didn't say a word as she lifted her chin. The doctor didn't even ask to take off her mask. Apparently, he didn't need to.

"Mhmm, you may 'ave cracked ze bone. Zere is some ugly bruising right 'ere," he said, lightly brushing the aching spot on her chin.

"My my, Pyro, you 'ave such a slender neck, and what a lovely chin. You take very good care of yourself, ja? Keeping ein very guter form."

Pyro swallowed as Medic's hands traveled down her neck, his smooth gloves sliding over her sweat-beaded skin. She felt her heart leap into her throat as his hand pressed over her chest, and in a flash, her hand flew up and backhanded him, his face turning sharply to the left, a loud _smack!_ resounding through the kitchen area, attracting the attention of the others. She realized too late what she had done, and quickly took a step back. Her voice cracked as she tried to imitate a Scottish accent.

"W-What are ya' gettin' so bloody handsy fer?"

Medic looked at her with his cold eyes, and as they narrowed, she knew the gig was up.

_Shit…I blew it…_

Before she could stop him, he growled and had snatched the front of her mask, ripping it off, her black hair ruffling as it was torn from her face. Spy scowled and Medic's mouth dropped, along with the remaining teammates who were watching in awe. Soldier growled and turned his nose up at her.

"Pyro is woman!" Heavy exclaimed. The scraping of chairs and padding of feet soon followed. Pyro closed her eyes and fell to her knees, holding her face in her hands. Medic looked down at her, shock still etched on his features. He looked both surprised and worried, realizing what he had just done.

"I will not tolerate having a woman on my team!" Soldier said, pushing to the front of the group. Engie and Sniper both poked their heads through the mess hall doors, Sniper sleepily rubbing his eyes.

"What the bloody hell is goin' on in here? Some people are tryin' t'sleep!"

Demo turned toward the both of them and said, "Oi! Pyro's a lass!"

"…What are you talkin' 'bout, sonny?" Engie asked, walking in after Sniper.

"Come look fer yerself!"

Pyro felt like a sideshow. Scout placed a hand on her shoulder and knelt down.

"Pyro? You alright?"

She tore her shoulder from his grasp and launched herself through the growing group of her teammates with her arm shielding her face, running through the doors and straight to her room, tears falling down her cheeks.

Scout ran after her.

"Pyro! Wait!"

But he was only greeted by a door slamming in his face when he finally reached her room. He sighed and walked back to the mess hall, where shouts were starting to float out to the halls. Apparently, Soldier was being chewed out by Spy and Heavy had picked the both of them up before they could kill each other. Scout stood by Demo, watching them.

"Who started it?"

"Ah, Solly started rantin' about 'ow we should vote to 'ave th'lass discharged, but Spy stepped in an' started tellin' him off aboot 'ow sexist that would be. Tha two were aboot to exchange blows a'fore Heavy stepped in like a good man and picked them both up by th'scruff 'ah their necks."

"Wow, really? Spy went and started a fight with Solly?"

"Aye, lad. Spooked a bit meself, actually."

Scout frowned and walked in between the two men suspended by Heavy's massive hands.

"Alright you chuckleheads, calm down, will ya'? This ain't no way to be men, right?"

"Like you should talk, maggot!" Soldier barked, receiving a rough shake from Heavy in response.

"Leetle Scout is right. This no way to solve problem."

"Where'd Doc go? He'd know what to do about this."

"Doktor left short time ago," Heavy said. "I do not know where he went."

"Well crap, what do we do, then?"

"How aboot we all jus' go to bed and sleep for now. We can talk aboot this afta' the morrow's fightin'."

"Yeah, I agree with Demo," Sniper said.

"Da, let's go to bed. Heavy is tired," Heavy said, setting Soldier and Spy back on their feet. The two shot glares at each other.

"Fine. Tomorrow, we decide what to do about her," Soldier growled, turning on his heel and walking out of the mess hall. Spy straightened his tie and jacket, reaching for his case of cigarettes, only to realize they were gone. He remembered that Pyro had it with her.

"_Bon Dieu_…"

He walked up to her room and gently rapped on the door.

"_Ma petit fleur_, if I may bother you for just a moment…"

"Go away Spy…please," came the soft reply from within.

"Please, may I just 'ave my cigarettes?"

The door opened a crack and the shiny metal case was pushed through. Before he could get a foot in the door to try and talk to her, she shut it.

"_Mon Dieu_…"

He looked sadly at the door before walking back to his room.

"I am going to kill that soldier…"

* * *

Alright, first chapter down! Next chapter coming soon!


	2. Chapter 2

Medic snuck through the shadows toward Pyro's room. He stood at her door, listening. He could hear soft sobbing from within, which made his heart sink. He straightened up and took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"_Bitte, Fräulein_, may I speak-"

"Go away you Nazi asshole!"

The force from her tone was immediately put down by a small hiccup at the end of her sentence. Medic gulped and turned the handle, slowly opening the door. He stepped in, looking on at the young woman, no older than 25, and shut the door behind him. He clicked his heels in a display of respect. She looked away from him and hid her face, wiping away the tears that had been streaming down her cheeks, scowling at the floor.

"I thought I told you to go away," she growled.

"Please…hear me out…"

Pyro didn't make eye contact, but nodded.

"I am very, very sorry. If I had known, I vould never 'ave taken the mask off in front of the others. I vas only doing it because I became angry with you for hitting me."

"I wouldn't have hit you if you hadn't started groping me."

"I vas not groping. I vas checking to make sure there vas no muscle damage."

"Still…uncomfortable."

"I am sorry."

Medic took her chin in his hand and lifted her eyes to his.

"Please, Pyro."

She swatted his hand away and looked back down at her feet.

"What do you care? You don't think women should be allowed on the battlefield. You're just like fucking Solly."

The German looked a little hurt at that.

"_Nien_, I am most certainly _not_ like Soldier. I only say vomen should not be on the battlefield because if a voman is captured, she is raped and used by the enemy. I do not vish this upon them."

"I can plenty handle myself in battle, you German prick!" she said angrily, poking him in the chest. He brushed it off.

"I am not saying that you can't. You handle yourself beautifully out on the battlefield. But, if the enemy vere to find out you are a voman-"

"They won't. Unless one of them tries to ass-rape me, which isn't happening."

Medic couldn't help but smile at her feistiness. He took her hand gently.

"Can you forgive me?"

Pyro looked from Medic's hands to his face. Behind those glasses were those piercing eyes, and yet, they weren't so cold now. They were soft, caring almost. She sighed.

"Are you apologizing because I'm a girl that won't hesitate to torch your ass during battle, or because you actually mean it?"

"Both."

"Good answer."

"So, you'll forgive me?"

"I dunno, you kinda just put me in jeopardy here. I could lose my life, my job, everything, because you took off my mask. It's going to take a bit before I can actually forgive you."

"How about I talk to Solly about keeping you on the team, and keep him from making any more sexist remarks?"

"Eh, close enough."

She leaned over and hugged him, catching him off guard. Medic felt a hot blush rising to his cheeks, his hands raised in surprise. He slowly lowered them to her shoulders and gave them a gentle pat, smiling to himself. She reminded him of a girl he used to know…

Before he could mull over the thought, she pulled away and gave him a wry smirk. He cleared his throat and tried to hide the blush on his cheeks, but she only grinned wider as he looked away, straightening his glasses out of habit.

"Ahem, well, now that _that_ is out of the way…"

Pyro wouldn't lie to herself, she _loved_ seeing Medic all awkward-like. She chuckled softly to herself and stood up, ushering him out the door.

"Hey, I appreciate the apology Doc," she said, giving him a softer smile. "But, don't clear me for battle tomorrow. I won't be fit to fight…"

"Vhat do you mean?"

But she only gave him a sad smile and closed the door behind him. She was glad that he had apologized, but she wouldn't be able to look at any of her teammates for a while, not even her newfound friends…

The next day, Pyro didn't show up for breakfast. Scout had even waited up for her, but when she still hadn't shown up to eat, and the Announcer informed them that there was 15 minutes before battle, he began to worry. He hadn't seen her all morning. He headed up to her room and almost knocked on the door when he noticed a medical waiver hanging on it, stating that she was not cleared for battle today. Scout remembered how she had reacted yesterday, and frowned at Soldier's cruelty toward her. He raised his fist and knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again. Still no answer. He jiggled the handle, finding that it was unlocked, and slowly opened the door.

"Pyro? I'm coming in, you better be dressed."

A blush rose to his cheeks as he thought about the possibility that she wasn't dressed, but quickly shook it off. He looked into the dark room to find…nothing.

_Okay…That's weird…_

He shut the door and scratched his head through his hat, frowning in thought.

_Where did she go?_

He walked away, glancing back at the door before heading down to the Intel room for their briefing. He passed by the mess hall and caught a glimpse of red slinking around in the shadows. He looked down the hall as Heavy passed by him, heading toward the Intel room.

"Scout not be late again for briefing," he warned. "Soldier is already in bad mood, do not upset him more."

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya'. I'll be there in a sec."

Heavy nodded and continued on his way, hauling Sasha by his side. Scout slipped into the mess hall to find Pyro sitting quietly on a kitchen counter, munching on what looked like a peanut butter sandwich. Upon closer inspection, he noticed how red her eyes were, and how dark circles had formed under them. She looked like she had been crying all night without so much as a minute of sleep.

"Pyro?"

She jolted and looked at him, eyes wide and watery, but she breathed a soft sigh upon seeing that it was just Scout. He approached her cautiously, as if she were a bird of prey that would either fly away in fear or peck out his eyes in anger. Fortunately for him, she didn't have the energy for either activity.

"Hey Scout," she said, an edge of exhaustion to her voice. Oh yeah. She hadn't slept a wink.

"Why aren't ya' fightin' today? I mean, well…never mind. You look like shit. What happened last night?"

Scout came closer and had to hold in a gasp. The dark circles under her eyes weren't from lack of sleep. They were bruises.

"Dude! You have _two_ black eyes!"

"There's more than that, Scout…"

"Who did this to you? Was it a Shadow?"

She nodded. She swore not to tell anyone, or risk being discharged by him personally…But right now, she was feeling more like shit and just wanted to shoot herself in the head so she could respawn, but she knew that only worked for wounds from battle, not from ceasefire. She'd still feel like shit, and she'd still have the black eyes, as well as the other various wounds…

"It was Soldier, wasn't it?" Scout said, baring his teeth. She looked down, but her expression said enough.

"I'm going to kill that motherfucking cocksucker! You don't hurt your own teammates!"

"Scout, don't. Don't say a word about it. Solly said he would make sure I was discharged if anyone found out. Just pretend like you didn't see me this-"

"SCOUT! Where the HELL is that boy? SCOUT! YOU'RE LATE FOR BRIEFING!"

Soldier walked into the mess hall, spotting Scout and Pyro. He straightened his back, breathing in deeply. His eyes flashed from beneath his helmet.

"Are we having problems in here?" he hissed.

"No sir, just asking Pyro if she's doing alright. Doc said she's sick, so I-"

"That's no reason for you to not be in that god damned briefing room! Get your sorry ass in there NOW, maggot!"

"Yeah yeah, keep your helmet on, I'm coming."

Scout passed by him without looking at him, hoping not to give any indication of his knowledge. Soldier marched up to Pyro. She immediately gave him a glare and said, "No, I didn't tell him. He just heard I was sick."

"You better not have told him, or so help me, I'll drag you out beyond the respawn limits and make sure the Silver Scout is awake to find you out there! You came in here as a soldier, you're going to be treated like one!" he said, firmly poking her in the chest where a particularly nasty bruise from the night before was located. She didn't even flinch at the pain, glaring daggers into Solly's hidden eyes. He snorted and spat on the floor where her feet dangled over the edge.

"Get off that counter. If you're going to sit on something, sit in a chair!" was all he said before turning on his heel and marching angrily out the doors. Only when she heard him descend the stairs did she let the tears flow.

"GET THE HELL DOWN!"

Spy cloaked as the enemy Soldier ran past him in the halls of the Silver base. With one less man on their side, capturing the Intel was proving to be harder than before. They still hadn't managed to capture it yet, and the sun was beginning to set. Spy walked slowly past a beeping sentry, so as not to drain his cloak too quickly. He paused for a moment against the wall to let it recharge some before continuing on toward the Silver Engineer. He and his level 2 sentry were the only things guarding the Intel, and he'd be damned if he missed it again. Scout had been off his game most of the day, which made him wonder what was wrong. Spy slunk up behind the enemy Engie and backstabbed him, slipping a sapper onto the sentry. His cloak deactivated as he ran into the Intel room. He snatched the Intel, slinging it onto his back and making a mad dash for the safety of the sewers. He hated getting his nice black suit filthy and wet, but he'd be showering soon anyhow. As he thought this, the Announcer boomed over the blaring sirens, "5 MINUTES TO CEASEFIRE!"

Spy sighed, glancing over his shoulder. No one was following him yet. He grinned and clambered up the ladder to his own side. He ran into the base, Heavy blocking the entrance behind him, Sasha blazing as round after round was sprayed at the pursuing Silvers, cutting them down. He slammed the Intel down on the steel table, claiming the point for Shadow. He straightened his tie and smiled smugly to himself. He looked around, then decided to leave a little early to grab the showers before anyone else could. He snuck down the hall and into the shower room, surprised to hear water running.

He poked his head in, noticing a shapely figure behind a faded grey shower curtain. He cleared his throat, his mouth slightly open at the shadowed figure, slightly distorted by the ripples in the curtain, but was still stunning. He composed himself and quickly undressed, stepping into a stall a few showers down. He could still see and smell the soap that slid down the drain in the tiled floor, as well as a pair of dainty feet and strong calves. The scrubbing from behind the curtain faltered slightly as he turned on the water, but continued as he busied himself with getting the grime of the sewers off of his body.

No sooner had he turned off his water, he heard the splash of wet feet hurrying away on tile. He wrapped a towel around himself and stepped out, spotting a lovely figure dressed in a short top and a pair of cotton pajama pants. He narrowed his eyes as he saw dark splotches on her skin, but he was hardly decent enough to approach her now. She glanced over her shoulder, and he thought he saw a dark circle beneath her eye before she hurried out. He became suspicious. She was hiding something, and clearly, that something was bruising on her back and who knew where else. He decided to investigate once he was dry and dressed in a clean suit. He frowned as he thought, the Announcer having proclaimed ceasefire ten minutes ago, as well as the Shadow victory.

After dressing, Spy slipped through the halls unseen, cloaked and silent. He wanted to figure out what was going on with Pyro and why she wasn't in the sick bay if she hadn't been cleared for battle. He walked up to her room, making sure to approach as quietly as he could. He looked over the paper that was hanging on the door, noticing how it didn't state what her illness was, just that she had not been cleared for battle that day. He knocked on the door and quickly stepped aside. It opened slowly from within, one brown eye looking out through the crack in the door. It opened more as she stepped out and looked around, as if she'd been expecting someone. Spy took this moment to slip into her room unnoticed as she stepped back, swiping her hand through the air, checking for him. He chuckled inwardly, because such an act would tip her off to his presence immediately.

_Oh Pyro, you silly thing, you._

Pyro stepped back inside as Spy retreated to a dark corner. He waited and watched as she turned on her bedside lamp, illuminating her skin in the darkness. Spy looked on, a frown upon his face, as he counted numerous bruises on her face alone, including two black eyes. He knew she was sporting more from seeing her exposed back in the showers. What had happened to her? Did a Silver beat her up when no one was looking?

She swiped a hand over her face, rubbing the weariness from her sore eyes. She officially _hated_ Solly, with a _passion_. She reached out to the small bottle beneath her lamp, marked with a medical label. She twisted the top off and dipped her finger in the cream, spreading it carefully around her eyes and on her left cheek. She then sighed and removed her shirt, revealing the more serious bruises on her torso. Spy had to restrain himself from gasping in surprise, but he did take in a deep breath and let it out quietly. She didn't notice as she began smearing the cream over her bruised arms and shoulders.

Spy slowly approached her, seeing the tears welling up in her eyes that she was trying so hard to hold back. He reached out to her as she turned her back on him and began rubbing the cream into the other, larger bruises splotching her skin. Spy took off his gloves and set them quietly on the floor. He crept up behind her and ghosted his fingers over her bruised shoulders. She shuddered and froze, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling as they stood up. Spy reached over and took the bottle from her hand, his voice calm and soothing as he said, "Allow me to help you."

Surprisingly, she didn't turn around, or lash out, or anything. She just relaxed slightly at his voice, but otherwise kept her back turned to him. She knew that if it wasn't her Spy, she'd be in respawn by now.

Spy's cloak deactivated as he smoothed his hands over the damaged skin of her back, noticing small lacerations here and there, peppering her skin. She tensed anytime he brushed a bruise or cut, but she didn't make a sound.

"_Ma fleur du désert peu_, who did zis to you? I zhall kill ze bastard."

She only shook her head.

"You can't…He's on our team."

"Surely not ze doctor?"

"No," she said, shaking her head again. She took a deep breath and let it out with a hiss as he traced the edges of the largest bruise in the small of her back.

"It was Soldier, non?"

She slowly nodded. Spy growled through clenched teeth.

"Zat sexist bastard! I zhall make sure 'e gets discharged for zis!"

"No!"

Spy looked at her quizzically. He figured it out before she could explain.

"'e 'as threatened your life if you told anyone, oui?"

She nodded.

"I zought so…"

He carefully massaged the medicinal cream into her skin, making her wince from time to time as he pressed against a bruise. He remained quiet, thinking to himself as he cooed soft words of endearment, trying to smooth away the hurt both physically and mentally.

"It will be alright, _mon petit fleur_, Soldier will not get away with zis. Such lovely skin should not be damaged so…"

She chuckled softly at that, and he genuinely smiled as he gently rubbed more of the cream into her shoulders. She leaned her head forward and her hair fell away, revealing what looked like a cigarette burn.

"My dear, did he do zis to you as well?" he said, anger edging into his voice.

"Yeah…"

"Why did you let him do zis to you?" he exclaimed.

"I didn't let him. He caught me in the hall, started yelling at me, and when I went to defend myself, he slapped me in the back of my head, so we exchanged blows and when I fell down, he ground out his cigarette out on the back of my neck."

Spy let out his held breath.

"I am sorry, I did not mean to imply zat you let him do such zhings to you."

"It's alright, no hard feelings…"

Spy put the lid back on the bottle, setting it on her bedside table. She sighed, clearly depressed. Spy leaned over and gave her a gentle hug. She actually leaned against him, feeling strangely relaxed. Must have been the medicine…

"Will you be alright, petit?" he asked softly, resting his chin on her shoulder, carefully avoiding a nasty bruise.

"I think so," she said, sounding unsure. "I-I don't want to run into him again…"

Spy could sense the fear she was trying to hide. As tough as she appeared on the outside, she still had feelings, and Soldier had hurt her mentally and physically.

"I don't want to be discharged…I like this team, I like everyone here with the exception of Soldier, even Medic. He came in here last night before I ran into Soldier to apologize."

"'e 'ad no idea what 'e put you through by exposing your face…"

"Yeah, he does…I had to wake him up late last night to have him give me this medicinal cream for my bruises."

"So 'e knows?"

"No. I just told him I got into a fight with a Silver wandering around too close to the base. He didn't question me."

"I see…"

Spy squeezed her gently, so as not to hurt her as he held her. She needed this right now. She needed the comfort of someone after she had been so brutally beaten, even if she did fight back. Soldier was mean when it came to close combat, and that meant with anyone. He'd often get into fights and wrestling matches with Demo or Heavy, and he could hold his own against them. Didn't always win, but he knew how to fight dirty. He scowled at the image he got in his head of the soldier kicking Pyro around in the halls late at night. Suddenly, as if she'd read his thoughts, she grinned and closed her eyes.

"You notice how Solly was keeping his helmet really low today?"

"Oui."

"I gave him a nice shiner. That's why."

Spy couldn't hold in the laugh that rapidly boiled in his chest. It rang out for a brief moment before dying out to a chuckle.

"You gave Soldier a black eye?" he asked, more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah, he was pissed too. He's probably got a bite mark on his wrist somewhere as well."

"'e deserves a bit more zan zat, non?"

"Yeah, but he's a prick, an' I'm not gonna waste my time with him."

Spy chuckled. He knew she was terrified of the man, she just didn't want to admit it. He'd seen this kind of behavior before. He pulled her closer and ran a hand through her hair, breathing in the smell of roses that graced her spiky hair.

"It is okay to be afraid, _mon petit_…"

"I'm not-"

"I can hear it in your voice, _cher_…Do not pretend that you are not."

She turned slowly around and grabbed the front of his jacket. She rested her head against his chest, tears forming in her eyes once more.

"You're right…I'm scared…I don't want to cross paths with Soldier again, but-"

Her stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. She had only eaten that peanut butter sandwich from this morning, when Scout found her, and it had long since burned off in her system. She was starving, but she didn't want to face her teammates looking like this…

"'ave you eaten today, petit?"

"I had a sandwich this morning…"

"And you 'ave not eaten since?"

"No…"

Spy clicked his tongue and let her go.

"Come zen, we will get you somezhing to eat."

"I can't go out there looking like this!" she protested, groaning slightly as the warmth of Spy's body pulled away from her.

"If anyone asks you anyzhing, simply tell zem what you told ze doctor."

She frowned. She didn't want to come across Soldier again, that was the real problem. Spy sighed and gently took her shoulder in his hand.

"You cannot hide from 'im forever. You will come across 'im whether or not you want to. Running for ze problem will not fix it."

Pyro took a deep breath and stood up. He was right. She couldn't sulk around in her room forever.

"Alright…"

Spy gave her a soft smile and gently patted her back as she put her white sleeveless shirt back on. She slipped on a pair of jeans, not caring that Spy was still in the room. Once dressed, she got a devious idea.

"I'm going to piss Soldier off so bad when I get down there…"

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to tell how I kicked the shit out of the Silver Scout when he was poking around the base last night," she said, a wily grin spreading across her features. Spy shook his head and chuckled.

"Zat wouldn't surprise me if it was true," he said, opening the door and letting the lights of the hall filter into her room. He bent down and picked up his gloves, slipping them back on before offering his hand to Pyro. She took it and he led her out into the brightly lit hall. She turned and shut the door, spotting a red uniform walking past toward the mess hall. She strode with her hands in her pockets, occasionally giving Spy a knowing glance. He walked with an air of confidence as he lit up a cigarette. She didn't like the smell of his cigarettes, but the smell coming from the kitchen was more pungent. Yup. Engie was cooking, and it actually smelled edible.

When the two walked into the mess hall, no one payed them much attention until Pyro sat down between Demo and Scout, Spy taking his seat across from her, puffing on his cigarette and looking lazily up at the ceiling. Scout looked over her, frowning at the bruises on her arms. Demo noticed her. He was somewhat sober, and actually saw the bruises on her lean arms and shoulders before seeing the two black eyes on her face.

"Woah, lassie, what ruffled _yer_ kilt?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

This got the attention of everyone else, Soldier looking like the only one who didn't care.

"What, these?" she asked, shrugging. "Oh, I just got these last night. I roughed up the Silver Scout. He was poking around the base while I was walking and decided to jump me. Got me pretty good until I caught the little bastard."

Soldier looked at her from beneath his helmet, a scowl on his face. The shadow from his helmet only hid most of the black and blue bruise extending beneath his right eye.

"Really? Way to go, lass! Nobody pokes aboot _our_ base!" he said, clapping a hand on her back. Spy and Scout both winced as she did, but she shook it off and gave him a wide grin, glancing at Soldier to see his expression.

"Yeah, fucking Silver better not come around here again!" Scout chimed in, smiling as he caught on to what she was doing. Soldier may get her back for this later, but for now, she was going to milk it for all it was worth.

"So the Silva's decided to send out a little snooper, eh mate?" Sniper said with a smirk.

"Sure did. I tell you what, that little guy is _fast_. But I managed. Ground his face in the dirt, I did," she said, beaming proudly.

"So I'm assumin' he had 'is bat wih 'im?"

"Yeah, little shit. Like I said, he got me good, but I roughed him up and sent him through the respawn system before any of his teammates woke up."

"Atta girl!" Engie said, approaching them with what looked like slightly charred ribs. He passed the plates around and gave her a congratulatory ruffle of her hair. She chuckled softly and gave Soldier a cocky grin. He didn't take kindly to that at all. He stood up and marched over to her, hissing, "May I have a word with you, private?"

She glanced over at Spy, who nodded. He'd be there to watch over her.

"Excuse me, gentlemen. I will be right back."

He got up and walked toward the bathrooms, cloaking once he was inside and stepping out into the hall. Soldier dragged Pyro down the hall and into the Intel room, where he slammed her up against the wall by her bruised shoulders, making her wince.

"What the HELL was that about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't give me that shit!"

He shook her and slammed her against the wall again. She groaned as her head smacked against the steel. Soldier growled low and glared at her.

"Who did you tell?"

"I didn't tell anyone shit."

"Do I have to fuck you up like I did last night? Or do I have pull out some of my interrogation techniques?"

Her eyes widened in fear. She knew about his so-called "interrogation techniques" and they were _not_ pretty, and she knew _exactly_ which techniques he was talking about. Her eyes narrowed and she spat in his face.

"You wouldn't dare."

Soldier growled and wiped his face.

"Wouldn't I, princess? Would you like to test that theory?"

Pyro felt her heart sinking. Where was Spy? Was he watching this? Recording it, maybe? She didn't know, but she was feeling more and more uncomfortable.

"Just try it. I'll kick your ass and mop the floor with your face!" she growled, lifting her knee and planting a firm kick in his gut. His hold slackened on her shoulders and she took the moment of weakness of put him in a headlock, flooring him in a few minutes, but he quickly squirmed out of her grip, only to pin her on the floor with his knees on her stomach. She hissed as he knelt on some of her bruises, making him frown at her, baring his teeth. He leaned down close to her face as she struggled.

"You're nothing but a pathetic weakling! Tell me who you told!"

"I didn't tell anyone."

_SMACK!_ Pyro's head snapped to the side as Soldier's powerful hand came down on her left cheek. She didn't make a sound as Soldier raised his hand again, this time balled in a fist, the other hand clenching the front of her shirt.

"Who did you tell?"

"No one."

_WHAM!_ His fist collided with her right cheek. She tasted blood as her molar cut into her cheek. She turned back to look at him, her nose aching slightly as blood began to drip from it. Where was Spy?

"Next, your shirt is coming off!" Soldier growled, shaking the fist grasping her shirt front. She scowled at him and attempted to punch him in the face, but he caught her arm and twisted it painfully behind her back, flipping her face-down on the steel floor. She cried out as she felt something in her chest cavity crack from the jarring impact. Just as she was sure she was about to be one shirt less of an outfit, the weight on her back disappeared.

"_Monsieur,_ zis is most inappropriate. It would be a shame for me to let ze higher-ups see zis…"

"Now Spy, don't be too hasty with that film, now…"

"You tell everyone what really happened to Pyro."

Pyro felt firm hands on her shoulders, pulling her up. She swayed on her feet, but Spy ducked down and picked her up. She would normally object to this, but she was tired. And her nose was bleeding. And she was _still_ hungry.

"Alright, alright, just don't go to the big wigs, please?"

"I will go if this harassment continues. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal."

Pyro had closed her eyes, not wanting to look at Soldier's disgusting face. She rested her head against Spy's shoulder, opening her eyes just a crack to see the black, pinstriped suit. She looked up at him and saw the firm look in his eyes, his mouth turned down into a scowl as he looked at Soldier.

"You sicken me."

Before Solly could reply, Spy turned on his heel and walked out, Soldier's heavy boots tramping behind him. Spy walked just past the mess hall before turning slightly to face Soldier.

"I suggest zat you go in zere now and tell zem ze truth. When I come back, zey had better be disgusted with you, or I will tell zem myself _and_ show our Announcer just what it is you've been doing to your own comrade."

With a dignified snort, he turned his nose up as he walked down the hall, cradling a battered and thoroughly satisfied Pyro.

"Thanks Spy," she mumbled, wearily resting her head on his chest. "You didn't have to do that, ya' know…"

"I felt it an obligation to a friend."

_Friend…_

Pyro looked up at Spy's black-masked face, but the only hint of emotion was his brow furrowed slightly in thought. She smiled gently to herself. So he admitted that he was fond of her. Spy was one to sneak around, keeping to himself most of the time, but he allowed himself to forge a friendship with her, and that was enough to make the hurt go away. As Spy neared her room, a set of footsteps came running down the hall at the rate of which only a Scout could run. He held onto his hat as he came to a sliding stop beside them, the biggest grin on his face.

"Dude! Solly just admitted that he was the one who kicked you around! Everyone's pissed! Well, I think they are…Heavy got up and knocked that asshole's helmet off and _man_, you should have seen the shiner he was packing! All black and blue and nasty! I'm pretty sure everyone's pissed, even the Doc looked mad. Though, I'm not sure if it was because you lied to him or because Soldier beat you up…Maybe both…Did you give Solly that black eye?"

Pyro nodded, not opening her eyes. Scout turned around as Spy carried Pyro's aching body into her room.

"Well speak of the devil, here comes Medic," he said, sighing.

Medic pushed past Scout and leaned over Pyro as Spy laid her out on the bed.

"Pyro! I vould not 'ave thought you of all people-"

"Save it, judge," she mumbled. "I know you're pissed at me, and yeah, I should have told you the truth, and I would have, had that jarhead not threatened me."

"You still should 'ave told zomebody about this!"

"She did, monsieur."

Spy turned to Medic and held up a large envelope.

"Zese pictures will get Soldier discharged if ze Announcer were to see zem," Spy said, casually stashing the pictures in his jacket.

"Ve should keep an eye on Soldier. Ve don't vant any more harm to come to our comrade."

The German looked down at Pyro and noticed the various bruises covering her frame. She shook his head and asked Scout and Spy to leave the room for a moment.

"Go on, shoo, I vill be done in a moment."

Spy and Scout stood out in the hall, Spy lighting up a cigarette and Scout fidgeting anxiously.

"Lean forward, my dear."

Pyro had removed her shirt and bra, covering her chest with her arms as Medic poked and prodded at her back. She flinched every time he pressed on a bruise or skimmed over a laceration. He clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"Lay back now, that's it."

He eased her back, and she ground her teeth as she stretched out, gravity pressing down on what she believed to be a cracked rib. Medic spotted the bruising first, and carefully pushed on the spot. The resulting yelp confirmed his suspicions.

"It is not broken, only cracked and bruised. I can fix that easily enough, but the bruises vill remain."

"Whatever, just…make it stop hurting so much…"

Medic could hear the undertones of a plea in her voice, as much as she tried to mask it. He gave her a gentle smile and said, "I vill be right back."

He hurried out the door, passing Scout and Spy on his way out. They each looked at each other, but stayed where they were. Sure enough, Medic returned with his medigun.

"I am back," he said, closing the door behind him. He pointed the medigun at her torso and waited a moment while it charged up. As soon as it was charged enough, he fired it, the healing beam drifting gently over Pyro's form. She sighed as the glow enveloped her body and washed away some of the hurt with a blanket of warmth.

"Feel better?" the doctor asked with a soft chuckle.

"Yes, now that my chest doesn't hurt like a son of bitch," she said nonchalantly, feeling too relaxed to care.

Medic turned off the medigun once her rib was fully healed. He held it at his side and smiled.

"I vill go now. I am sure that Solly vill be needing my assistance soon if I don't stop the others from tearing 'im asunder."

"Alright. Thanks a lot, Doc."

"Du bist willkommen, mein lieber."

He clicked his heels and turned away as she pulled her bra and shirt back on, slipping a blanket over her torso. Spy and Scout entered as Medic walked out, muttering, "Gentlemen," before briskly striding away. Scout looked down at Pyro, sitting at the edge of the bed. Spy leaned against the wall as the door closed, putting out his cigarette and watching Pyro carefully from across the room.

"Yo, you alright?" Scout asked, leaning his elbows on his knees as he hunched over. "'Cause if Solly gives you any more trouble, I'll thrash him!" he said, grinning.

"You will do no such zing," Spy said matter-of-factly. "'E would gut you ten times before you managed to hit 'im."

"Oh yeah? Says who, Spook?"

"Says your mother, now run off to bed."

"But it's the weekend!" Scout argued.

"Scout, Pyro needs 'er rest. Would you deny her zat simple comfort simply because 'it's ze weekend?'"

"No…"

"Zen go on."

"Ugh, fine. Talk to you guys in the morning. Oh, and Pyro?"

"Mmm?"

"Why don't you actually eat with us tomorrow? You can sit by me, I won't let anyone hurt ya!"

"I don't zink anyone will be 'urting 'er again unless zey are wearing silver clothing," Spy said, examining his nails.

"You're just bein' a real pain in my ass, you know that?"

"Gentlemen, please," Pyro interrupted. "If you're going to bicker, please take it outside. I've had enough yelling for today."

"Understandable, mademoiselle," Spy said, giving her a little bow. "I shall be off. Would you like me to bring you anyzing from ze mess hall?"

"If you would, please…"

"But of course."

Scout followed Spy out, glancing back toward Pyro one last time before shutting the door.


	3. Chapter 3

"_Hudda! Hudda hur huh!"_

_Pyro rolled her eyes at the blank expression she got from Demo before shoving her shoulder into him, knocking him over as the Silver Soldier fired his rocket. She was blasted forward a few steps and tripped, but Demo pulled her up and thanked her before rushing off toward Engie. Pyro smiled to herself and walked around the corner._

"_THE ENEMY HAS CAPTURED THE BRIEFCASE!"_

"_Huh?"_

_She wheeled around, her eyes flashing behind her mask as she ran into the base. Only a Spy was sneaky enough to get past their defenses. She stalked the halls, watching carefully. She heard footsteps and readied her flamethrower as the Shadow Soldier rounded the corner. She almost flamed him too, even after processing that it was him. He scowled at her and shoved past._

"_Out of my way! Find that damned Spy and get your ass back out there!" he barked, hurrying toward the entrance. Pyro made a face behind her mask before continuing on her way. She instinctively knew where the Spy would have gone. Their own Spy often sneaked about in the sewers, waiting for the right moment to strike, and that was where she was going to search. After finding the hatch leading down below the base, she climbed down the slippery metal rungs and dropped into the water with a clumsy splash. Well, if the Spy was down here, he knew he wasn't alone now._

_Pyro readied her flamethrower, prepared to blast the Spy as soon as she caught wind of him. After a few experimental flares to check the area around her, she began to move through the sewers, listening to the dripping of the pipes and the steady babble of the murky water that swirled around her ankles. She listened, and could have sworn that she heard a splash behind her. She whirled around and caught sight of Shadow's Spy just before he cloaked, giving her a knowing smile. She then turned back around to continue her pursuit of the Silver Spy. She frowned as she listened to everything around her. Her boots splashed noisily while she heard nothing from Spy. Perhaps he had already passed her._

_She felt a familiar prickling on the back of her neck and straightened up, peering through her mask. She heard the faintest rustle behind her and spun around, fire blazing from the mouth of the dragon pained on the end of her weapon. Nothing caught fire, but she spotted the black briefcase and cautiously approached it, spraying flames around her as she walked. She knew that dirty Spy was still lurking around, waiting for her to drop her guard. She slowly reached for the briefcase, picking it up carefully. Somehow, this didn't feel right. She knew her Spy was wandering around here too, but she would have spotted a body if he had killed the Silver. She looked around and quickly made her way back toward her base. She kept looking over her shoulder, but never set anyone ablaze. As she walked backwards toward the ladder, she felt the sharp edge of a knife press against her throat. Of course._

"_Bonjour, mon ami," came the whispered greeting. She felt a leather-clad hand slide over hers, gently grasping at the handle to the briefcase._

"_I shall take zis off your hands," the slick voice cooed, but she didn't relent and kept a firm grasp on the briefcase. She felt the knife press harder against her throat, the blade cutting through the neck of her mask and biting into her skin. She felt the warmth of blood starting to slide down her neck._

"_Mmm, I suppose I shall have to persuade you to give it to me, non?"_

_She felt lips press against the side of her neck, the Spy's breath ghosting over her skin as his teeth latched onto the neck of her mask and gently started to pull it up. She shuddered as the same teeth grazed the back of her neck, making stomach flip. She stood, frozen to the spot, her eyes wide. They only grew wider as the Spy whispered in her ear._

"_I know of zis little secret of yours, ami_," he half-purred, half-hissed to her. She let a soft growl emit from behind her clenched teeth. Of course. Once one knew, they all knew. She fought the urge to slam her elbow into the Spy's gut, knowing that the movement would mean losing her head, and the briefcase. She had come too far, the briefcase was in her grasp, and now she was caught by a snake. The Silver Spy wrapped an arm around her waist, his hand traveling slowly lower to grope at her groin. She ground her teeth in agitation and shock. She raised her foot and slammed it down on the Spy's toe. He breathed out a stream of French curses, but didn't release her. Instead, he pressed the knife harder against her throat.

"Now now, we can't 'ave any of _zat_, dear."

"Why don't you just kill me and take the briefcase if you want it that badly?" she hissed, but all that came out was, "Huh hur hudda huh hudda hur hurda?"

The Spy seemed to understand well enough and said, "Because I'm sure my team will want you alive for questioning."

She growled and raised her foot again, but the prick of steel on her skin made her slowly lower it.

"I am not going to kill you today, _ma jolie fleur_," he sneered. "But you will not rest until we get ze information we desire from you…"

With that, he pushed her forward toward his base. She still clung to the briefcase as if it were her lifeline. No matter. He was certain their Heavy could pry her fingers off of it, even if it meant breaking them in the process.

"30 MINUTES REMAINING UNTIL CEASEFIRE!"

"Vhere the hell ist Freu Pyro?" Medic asked Spy as he passed by.

"I last saw her in ze sewers searching for zat Silver Spy. I 'ave not seen 'er since."

"How long has she been gone?"

"I do not know, monsieur, but you will be gone soon if you do not duck."

Medic flung himself to the ground as the Silver Scout ran up and tried to whack him with his bat, but he tripped over the doctor and fell face-first into the dirt. Spy made quick work of blowing his brains over the ground as Medic stood up and brushed the dust from his lab coat.

"Denke, Herr Spy."

"_J'ai le plaisir_, Doctor," Spy said before disappearing.

"Vhere are you, Pyro? Our briefcase has not been returned, yet it is still missing…"

Spy thought about what the doctor had said as he stabbed the Silver Sniper in the back.

_Has she really been gone for two hours? Mon Dieu, they must have captured her! I'm assuming she still has the briefcase, since they haven't claimed it yet…_

Spy disguised himself as the Silver Heavy and hurried down the hall, only to be stopped by the Medic.

"Heavy, you are needed in the interrogation room," the doctor said, a sick grin on his face.

"Da, okay Doktor," he said, lumbering down the hall. Spy had been through this base many times over, and knew exactly where the interrogation room was. It wasn't even a room. More like a large concrete storage room with a single light bulb. He saw the Silver Spy standing by the door, smoking a cigarette.

Man, he could really use one of those right now.

"Ah, zere you are, Heavy. For ze life of me, I cannot get zis _putain gênante_ to give me ze briefcase. Would you mind prying it from her 'ands? Break 'er fingers if you must."

"Da, my pleasure," Spy replied, walking into the dark room. The light from the hall filtered into the dusty room through the door as he walked in. The Silver Spy continued to smoke and paid him no mind. Spy walked up to Pyro, who had been unmasked and looked quite a bit worse for wear. Her lip was busted and bleeding, and the black eyes that were starting to heal before battle were nasty shades of purple once again. Her chin rested on her chest, her sweat-dampened hair plastered to her head. Blood dripped from her mouth and she spat on the floor in front of Spy's feet. He knelt down and looked at her. She still had the black briefcase clutched tightly in her hand, unyielding. The rubber of her gloves stretched over her knuckles as she slowly looked up. Her gaze focused on him for a moment, her eyes trembling slightly, before breathing a sigh and looking up at the ceiling, appearing unimpressed.

"If you're here to torture me, get on with it, but I'm not giving you this briefcase."

Spy opened his mouth, but couldn't find the right words to say. He was aware of the Spy standing just outside the door; he could still be caught. He felt a pang of hurt as he watched her.

_Do you really have such loyalty to the team, that you would risk everything for that briefcase? Just let it go…They can win for today, for all I care…_

He reached out for the briefcase, her eyes narrowing at him.

_Just let it go…Laisse-toi aller, mon fleur…_

She jerked her hand away, more out of reflex than anything. She glared at him. Her arms were tied to her sides, her ankles tied to the legs of the chair. It was obvious that she had been cut several times. Spy quietly looked them over. One on her cheek…three on her chest, according to the slashes in her suit…Lots of small nicks and cuts on her neck, and what looked like….bite marks?

"Well? You gonna' get on with it or what?" she challenged.

"Hurry up, Heavy, we 'ave 10 minutes to claim zat damned briefcase," the Silver Spy said, standing in the doorway and watching him.

"But…is leetle woman," Spy said, trying to find a reason to keep from harming her more. "We do not want to kill her, no?"

"Non, but we _do _want whatever information we can get from 'er, including zat briefcase."

Spy looked back to Pyro and reached out for the briefcase again, but she flinched. Her fingers tightened on the handle, even if she couldn't get very far with her arms tied. Spy looked down on her and softened his expression, giving her a sly wink before turning his expression back to that of a thoughtful Heavy.

Pyro ached all over, but nothing could have washed that pain away more than seeing the face of Heavy soften into a smile and wink at her.

_Spy…you sneaky son of a bitch…how many times have you saved my ass, now?_

She kept herself from smiling back, knowing that she didn't want to blow his cover.

"Give me briefcase, leetle Pyro!" Spy demanded, putting on his best raging Heavy face.

"No!" Pyro hissed. If you didn't know better, you'd think she still didn't know it was Spy.

"Give me briefcase!" Spy roared, reaching out for the briefcase. He picked up the briefcase, and her with it. She hung upside down, her wrist burning from supporting her weight as she held on to the briefcase for dear life. She knew this was all part of the act, but he didn't have to get so rough. So, to make it seem as if Spy was stronger than he really was, she let go and fell on her side, the force jarring her bones. She groaned and Spy gave her an apologetic look before turning to the door.

"I have briefcase. I take it to Intel room, now."

"_Très bon_. If you need me, I shall be in ze showers. Zis battle is ours."

_Idiot!_ Spy thought. _You're supposed to take it yourself! Ha!_

He headed toward the Intel room at first, but once he heard water running, he hurried back to the upended Pyro and cut her ropes with a swift motion. He pulled her up.

"Can you run?"

"Yeah," she said, looking a bit unsure of herself. She swayed slightly, but steadied herself and nodded. "Yeah, I can run.

"Good. Come on. We 'ave one more stop before we leave."

Pyro nodded and followed Spy down the winding halls to the Silver Intel room. He handed her the black briefcase and swiped the Silver one, the alarm going off overhead.

"Come on! To ze sewers!"

Pyro jogged after him and down the shaft leading to the dark water below. They waded through it until they reached their side of the battlefield.

"Just a little further, _ma petit fleur_," Spy assured, helping her up the ladder. He pulled her up and was suddenly knocked off his feet with a metallic _CLANG!_ Pyro frowned up at the grinning Silver Scout.

"Oh, there ya' are. We were startin' to get worried about ya'!"

Scout grabbed her arm, but she pulled him down with a mighty lurch, wrenching his bat from his hands and throwing down into the sewers with a splash. Ha! Take that!

Pyro laughed and shut the hatch, twisting the lock. She then picked up the Silver briefcase, Spy's body already disappearing into the respawn system. She frowned and hurried through the base. She slammed both cases down in the Intel room and let out a triumphant yell as the ceasefire siren went off. Shadow had won their sixth battle in a row.

Scout walked inside, completely flustered.

"Who the hell do they think they are? Starting a battle on the weekend! Idiots!"

He passed Pyro, heading to the showers. Pyro chuckled as she walked out of the Intel room. Spy walked out from resupply and lit up a cigarette, plowing out a plume of smoke and smiling at her. She smiled back, only realize she felt very naked without her mask while she was still wearing her suit. She decided to go back to her room and change into some real clothes while whoever cooked worked on dinner. She hurried to her room, bumping into Medic on the way there.

"Freu Pyro!" Medic called in almost a sing-song voice. "Vhere on _earth_ vere you during the battle?"

He then did a double-take of her appearance.

"Mien gott, they captured you, didn't they?"

"Yup."

"Und you vere able to keep the briefcase?"

"Yup."

"…Mercy me, vhat did they do to you?"

"Eh, their Spy threatened to rape me, cut me up a bit, took my flamethrower and my mask, had their teammates take turns smacking me around to try and get me to release the briefcase…nothing I can't handle."

"Und you vhere wandering around in the sewers? Vith all those cuts?"

"You can disinfect them later, I need to change."

"Nien, now."

Pyro groaned and followed Medic to the infirmary. She was _not_ looking forward to this.

Spy ground out his cigarette. He had taken a shower before everyone else, so he was in no rush. He walked toward Scout and frowned as he realized he was butt naked and walking down the hall like he owned it.

"Ahem."

Scout turned around.

"Oh, hey Spook."

"May I ask what it is you are doing?"

"Nope."

Scout turned around and walked off toward his room. Spy sighed and cloaked himself, disappearing into thin air.

Scout walked into his room, snatching his clothes off of his chair.

"I can't believe I forgot my clothes in here. Oh well. At least Pyro wasn't walking around. Boy, she'd be in for a surprise."

He slipped on his boxers and stretched, yawning. No need to rush. He looked in the mirror and flexed his arms, grinning at the lean muscle.

"Beautiful."

He laughed to himself and threw on his shirt and pants, taping up his hands and slipping on his shoes. He finally put his black cap on his head, smirking at himself in the mirror.

"Yeah, look at that ladykiller! Heh."

He walked out of his room and bumped into Pyro heading back to hers.

"Yo, Py-Whoa, what the hell happened to you? You look like you've been playing in traffic!"

"Yeah, I was captured by the Silvers, but Spy found me and helped me out."

"That explains where you were this whole time. Everyone was starting the worry. I think even Solly was starting to wonder where you went."

"Hmph."

"Hey, what are you doing later?"

"Why?"

"Well, I wanted to know if you'd like to play some baseball. Snipes is going out to the town beyond respawn limits and he could drop us off at the field out there. He says he's getting the mail from the post office, but everyone knows he goes to the bar too to restock on beer, so we'll have time for a few swings."

"Oh, sure. Just let me get my bat."

"You have a bat?"

"Well, technically, I stole it from the Silver scout, but hey, a bat's a bat."

"Dude! You got his bat?"

"Yeah. Little guy thought he was slick and got Spy as he was helping me out of the sewers, but I grabbed his bat and threw him in the water."

"Freakin' _awesome_! His bat's aluminum, right?"

"Yup."

"Nice. I'll grab mine!"

Scout ran into his room and snatched his bat, then searched around for the ball while Pyro went to her room. He reached under his bed and grabbed the dirty, worn-out baseball and stuck it in his pocket.

After locking the door, Pyro hoisted the light aluminum bat onto her shoulder. She had taped up her hands nice and tight, grinning at the creaking of the tape as she gripped the bat. She loved that sound, and hadn't heard it in a long time. She found Scout walking out of his room and looked her over, his dogtags jingling as he stopped.

She was clad in a black T-shirt and jean shorts that were frayed and torn around the bottom, with tall black soccer socks and running shoes that looked worn and dirty. Her dogtags were visible now, and the silver metal glinted in the light of the halls. Her shirt was short enough to boast her strong core, and now that she wasn't wearing her suit, her lean and powerful arms glistened in the light.

"Damn girl, you're fine!" Scout said, as if he'd never noticed before. She rolled her eyes and turned around, the back of her head looking like an explosion of red from the tips of her spiked hair. Scout followed her through the hall toward the entrance.

"Wait a sec, I wanna do something first."

Scout stayed in the base while she walked through the doors, looking up at the silver base, grinning and waving. Scout looked through a window and saw that she was waving to the Silver Scout, who was glaring at her from the window to his room. He flipped her the bird and shut his blinds as she skillfully spun his bat in her hand, pretending to hit a ball and looking off in the distance, smirking at him as he glared through the blinds.

Scout walked out and put a hand on her shoulder, grinning.

"He is _so_ going to be after your head in Monday's battle," Scout said, laughing.

"And I'm gonna fill that loud mouth of his with flames. Maybe all that hot air in his head will explode."

Scout laughed and turned her toward Sniper's camper. The owner of said camper was currently checking the pressure of his front left tire. He caught sight of the two and looked at them through his yellow-tinted aviators.

"I see ya' found someone else t'bother about playin' yer silly games," he said, throwing them a smirk. He looked over Pyro with a blank expression, but he was somewhat impressed by her fit build.

"Yeah, an' it looks like she can actually _hit a ball_, Snipes," Scout said, grinning.

"I wasn't trained to play sports, mate. I was trained to sift heads. Get in the bloody car."

Scout smirked and jumped into the back of the camper, Pyro following close behind. Sniper wasn't long in checking the tire pressure, and was soon up in the driver's seat and starting the engine. Before long, they we off through the gates marking the boundary of respawn. Pyro felt a strange tingling as they passed through the boundary. Scout must have felt it too, judging by the shiver that went through him.

"Man, I'll never get used to that."

"What is it?"

"The feeling of time taking hold of you again," Sniper said, frowning. "Miss, do you know how long I've been here?"

"No, how long?"

"Almost 70 years."

Pyro's jaw dropped. Scout looked down, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, I've been here about 30."

"But…wait…how?" Pyro stuttered. Scout didn't look a day over 22, and she would have guessed Sniper was in his mid thirties.

"The respawn system is a funny thing, mate," Sniper said. "Time here isn't the same as time outside of here. That's how we come back after dying. There's a lil device in yer suit that turns back time when ya' die, so long as ya' stay inside the boundaries. Once you go outside the boundaries, you cross over into the rest of tha' world, where time is normal, and th'device shuts off until yer back in tha' system. Don't ya' find it funny how you've been with us for two years, an' ya' don't look any older?"

"Well, I guess so…"

"Tha's the system for ya'. We're still our same ages as we were when we first came in, but as soon as ya' step outside the boundaries, you start agin' again. I went to my parent's funeral thirty-eight years ago, and my sister's ten years ago. My sister's family thought I died long ago, and it's best that we keep it that way."

"Wow…I'm sorry…"

"My ma's still alive, but she's old as fuck now," Scout said, a hint of sadness in his voice. "I still hear from her, but I haven't seen her since I've been here. She wouldn't believe it was really me if I were to show up and see her, now."

Pyro felt that tug at her heartstrings, hearing Scout sad. Sniper didn't have much feeling in his voice, but she could see the deep sadness in his eyes, even as he focused on the road.

"I'm sorry guys…Why did they do this? I mean, why did they bring us here, if they knew this would happen?"

"No one knows, mate," Sniper said, his brow furrowed in thought. "But they keep us here with the knowledge that we won't leave unless we want to die like everyone else, or the fact that we have nowhere else to go because all of our folks are dead, dying or believe us to be dead."

"That's…cruel…"

"Look, can we, y'know, stop talking about this?" Scout said.

"Sorry Scout, I didn't know about any of this."

"It's alright. It's just best not to talk about it too much. Too depressing."

Pyro nodded to him and sat in silence while they pulled into town. Sniper stopped at the baseball diamond, letting Scout and Pyro out into the fading sunlight. He then drove off toward a small stand of buildings in the distance.

"So, how long has it been since you last played?"

Pyro looked at him.

"I haven't played since I came here."

"Well then!"

Scout pulled the ball out of his pocket and tossed it up, catching it in the same hand.

"We'll have to see how well you do!"

The sun's light slowly faded, and the floodlights came on, bathing the field in light. After a few hours of hits and misses, Pyro got her swing back and started knocking them out of the park, putting Scout's running skills to the test. Eventually, they made a game out of hitting the ball and seeing if Scout could catch the ball before it hit the ground. After another hour of running and swinging, Scout fell onto his back in the cool grass, laughing.

"Okay! I'm tired! Happy?"

Pyro chuckled and hefted the bat onto her shoulder.

"You should be!"

She sat next to him on the grass. It was surprisingly soft for the summer heat. She fell back on the grass, relishing the feeling of the cool green blades as they tickled her face. This was nice, considering there was no grass on or around 2Fort. It was all sun-baked earth and dust. Grass was a nice change of pace. Scout lay, breathing steadily, beside her. He looked up at the darkening sky, rich with hues of orange and red, edged with dark blue as the blanket of night wall slowly being pulled over the world. The first few stars were twinkling through the spreading darkness.

"You think we'll ever get out of here?"

Pyro looked over at him. He had a calm expression, a drastic change to his usual cocky grin. He looked thoughtful.

"I don't know, Scout," she said, looking back up at the sky. "From what you and Sniper said, I would guess that we can't."

"Well, we can't now, but if you were given the chance to, would you leave?"

Pyro thought about that for a moment. It was an interesting question. Would she leave? Sure, she'd leave if she could; she'd probably get tired of fighting eventually. But, she had friends here. Would she ever see them again were she to leave?

"I don't know…I mean, if I could still see you guys, yeah, I'd leave eventually…but if I couldn't see you guys anymore, what's the point in leaving if there's no one out there for you?"

"Mmm…"

Scout closed his eyes, thinking. A warm breeze blew past, tipping his hat back and ruffling the short brown hair beneath the brim. Pyro breathed deeply, letting the fresh air fill her lungs. It was nice to relax for a moment, away from the steel walls and blaring sirens and…and everything. She sighed softly. Scout opened his eyes and looked at her, turning on his side.

"Hey…"

"Yeah?" Pyro looked at him.

"Uh…"

He swallowed, but couldn't find the words to say. Instead, he reached over and ruffled her hair, smiling at the soft texture beneath his fingers.

"You're alright."

Pyro smiled at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but a loud honk interrupted him, followed by glaring headlights. Scout sat up.

"Ride's here."

"I noticed," Pyro said, rolling her eyes.

Scout chuckled and walked on toward the camper, Sniper honking the horn again. Pyro jumped up and brushed herself off, holding the bat in one hand as she stepped through the door, taking a seat across from Scout.

"You two have fun?"

Scout smiled wearily.

"Yeah. She wore me out."

"Wow, someone wore _you_ out?" Sniper said, laughing. "That's a feat in itself."

"Aw, can it, koala fucker."

Sniper just chuckled and pulled out of the parking lot, heading back toward 2Fort.

Sniper kicked them out of his camper once they got back to the base. He needed his sleep, and he was getting tired of hearing Scout's half-assed insults. So Scout and Pyro stepped out and he drove off behind the base.

"Hey, night's still young, you wanna do anything?" Scout asked.

"What? I thought you were tired."

"Tired? Me? Nah, I just needed to stop and rest for a moment."

To prove a point, he started jogging in place and grinned.

"Alright, alright. Well, I would like to get some grub. I'm hungry."

"Yeah, same here! Come on, race ya' to the mess hall!"

Pyro grinned as Scout got a head start. She shook her head and ran after him, catching up and grabbing the back of his shirt and pulling him back as she sped forward.

"Hey! No fair!"

"Oh quit whining! I didn't hear you say anything about rules, so I'm going to do what I do best! Fight dirty!"

"Oh, you little shit!" Scout laughed, quickly catching up to her, but just a mite too late. She stepped into the mess hall just a half second before he did. She raised her arms in triumph.

"And the crowd goes wild!"

"Oh shut it," Scout said, frowning. Pyro laughed.

"Well, if you're going to be like that, I won't cook for ya."

"H-Hey! Not cool!"

Pyro giggled.

"Don't insult your cook."

"Geez, sorry."

"That's what I thought!" Pyro said, grinning. Scout just huffed and turned his head. She chuckled and headed back to the kitchen and fired up the stove.

"How do you like your eggs?"

"Fried. With the little brown crust around the edges!" Scout said.

"Toast? Bacon?"

"Yes and yes."

Pyro gave him a smile and opened the fridge, grabbing two cartons of eggs, two packs of bacon and a loaf of bread.

"Why so much?"

"Because you know that as soon as they hear the eggs frying, they'll all come running."

"True…You're a great cook."

Pyro looked over at him and gave him a wide grin.

"Thank you."

Scout loved that smile. He sighed softly and kicked himself for not saying what he wanted to say earlier. Spy chose that moment to uncloak behind him and lean on his shoulder.

"She is beautiful, no?"

"Gah! Spy, what the hell?"

Spy chuckled and waved to Pyro, who nodded to him over her shoulder, her back turned to them as she buried herself with the eggs. Spy lowered his voice to just above a whisper.

"I've seen ze way you look at 'er."

Scout blushed and glared at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Feh, you know very well what I am talking about."

Spy lit a cigarette and blew a small smoke ring before letting the rest of the smoke billow out of his nose.

"Mmm, I do believe you are smitten with Madame Pyro."

"N-No I'm not!"

"Well zen, you should not mind if I ask 'er for a date, non?"

"Uh…Sure, why not?"

Spy grinned at him and ground out his cigarette, putting the rest of the cancer stick in his pocket for later. He walked into the kitchen, and Scout gulped as he watched him.

_What are you doing, dummy? Get over there and ask her yourself! You know you like her!_

But before he could reason with himself and get up the courage, he heard Spy speak.

"_Mademoiselle_, may I 'ave a moment?"

"Sure Spy, just a sec."

She slid a few finished eggs off the pan and onto a waiting plate, throwing a few strips of bacon in with a loud _hiss_.

"Now, what is it?" she asked, wiping her hands on a towel.

"I was just wondering if I may ask you for a date tomorrow evening?"

"Date? Tomorrow? Eh, sure, why not? Least I can do for you after you've saved my ass so many times," she said, shrugging.

"_Merveilleux_! I shall find you at 5:30, oui?"

"Sure. I'll be in my room."

"Excellent. I will see you zen. Now, would you mind terribly to make me somezhing as well?"

"Sure, whaddya want?"

"Just eggs and toast, _s'il vous plaît_. I like my eggs poached, toast lightly browned."

"You got it."

"Merci."

Spy walked away and sat at the table, straightening his tie. Scout frowned at him before looking away.

"Hmph. Just because you two go on a date, doesn't mean you're like, going steady or anything."

"Ah, but who is to say zat we won't? I am quite fond of 'er. She is beautiful, talented, and 'as a wonderful personality. Did you know she could sing and draw?"

"No…"

"_Mon Dieu_, she 'as the voice of an angel, and she draws in a sketchbook she hides under 'er bed."

"Dude, you sound like a stalker."

"Ah, but who 'as actually come out and asked ze girl on a date, hmm?"

"Can it, Frenchie, before I knock your block off."

Spy just chuckled and lit his partially-used cigarette once again, turning his head away from Scout and blowing the smoke out in a white plume. Demo stuck his head through the doors and sniffed the air.

"Oi! What ye be cookin, lass?"

"Eggs and bacon, want some?"

"Aye!"

Demo joined Spy and Scout at the table. Before long, everyone but Solly had come to the table. Scout had to admit, she brought the gang together, even if it was just for her cooking.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Pyro awoke to flowers at the front of her door. She'd never been given flowers before. They were lovely red and pink roses.

_I wonder…_

She brought them into her room, deciding that she would get a mug from the kitchen to put them in later. She took a deep whiff of their heady scent, letting her breath out in a soft purr.

Spy stood outside the door, smiling to himself as he heard the faint sound of approval from within Pyro's room. Yes, she did like the flowers. Very much so. He strode off, feeling proud of himself.

Scout watched from afar as Spy laid the flowers down at her door. He felt a twinge of jealousy and crossed his arms. Spy was doing this to annoy him, and it was working.

_Damn that Spy! If he knows I like her, then why is he doing this? Did I do something to make him mad?_

Spy chuckled softly to himself as he headed to the kitchen. It was his turn to cook, and he knew exactly what he was going to fix.

_An hour later…_

Pyro walked out of her room and out into the hall in her pajama pants and a t-shirt. She figured she wouldn't get dressed until later. She smelled a very familiar scent wafting through the halls, and she had to rush to the kitchen to see for herself if someone was really making-

_Crepes!_

She ran into the kitchen and saw both a wonderful and ridiculous sight at the same time. Spy was fixing crepes, but he was also wearing a frilly white apron. He turned and looked at her, giving her a soft smile. She put her hands on her hips and smirked.

"You've been reading my diary, haven't you?"

"Oui."

Pyro didn't even feel angry at him. He was fixing her favorite breakfast, how could she be angry? She just sighed and warned him not to do it again before leaning over the pan and watching in wonder as he flipped a crepe and scooped strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and whipped cream into the center while the other side finished cooking. He then skillfully wrapped the crepe and slid it onto a plate, finishing it off with a drizzle of strawberry sauce. He left a little heart-shaped dollop next to the crepe, sneaking her a sly grin as he passed it to her. She blushed slightly and took the plate, then gave him a light peck on the cheek before sitting down. Scout walked in as she took a bite.

"Mmm, this is great Spy!" she exclaimed before digging into it. A soft laugh came from the kitchen.

"You are welcome, mademoiselle."

Scout made a face at him before sitting a few seats down from Pyro. He watched her from a distance. Whatever it was Spy had made seemed to make her really happy. He'd have to ask the Frenchman about it later.

"Here you are," Spy said, setting a plate down in front of Scout. He eyed the pastry before taking a bite. He had to admit, it was pretty good…

Once everyone had managed to get to the table, coffee was brewed and morning chatter ensued. Spy remained silent as he sipped his coffee and read the newspaper. He glanced over at Pyro and smiled, winking at her. She smiled back and took a swig of her coffee.

Over the next few hours, Scout spent his time working out and jogging around the base. He often resorted to exercise when he needed time to think.

_I have to tell her eventually…I mean, what if she and Spy __**do**__ start going steady?_

He slowed to a stop and bent forward, panting after his third lap around the base. He straightened up and looked at the base, staring up at Pyro's window. He frowned and kicked the dirt as he walked away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

_Who am I kidding? She'd never think of being with me. I'm not romantic or anything, but Spy is. Hmm…maybe if I tried sneaking her little gifts now and then, she'd notice me! That's it! I'll watch whatever Spy is doing and just copy him!_

He ran another lap around the base before taking a rest in the barn. He jumped into a pile of hay and leaned back, resting. He heard a soft creaking noise beneath him and frowned. He looked down and started digging through the hay. He reached the floorboards below and as soon as he stepped foot on it, it creaked and snapped. He fell through with a sharp cry of surprise and landed with a solid _thunk_. He rubbed his aching backside as he stood up. He looked up through the floorboards. Even if he jumped, he couldn't get up there. He frowned and picked up his hat from the dirt floor, putting it back on his head.

_Well, better start trying to find another way out…_

Scout started walking through the darkness, some area lit by the afternoon sun where the floorboards were cracked. He tried several times to reach the crossbeams above his head, but all to no avail. He cursed as he continued walking. He started thinking that this would be a good place to set up an ambush if there was a way to get back up. When he got out, he made a mental note to make a rope ladder and set it up where he fell through.

The ground suddenly sloped downward into inky darkness. Scout looked up, noticing how the floorboards had stopped and were replaced by packed earth and clay supported by thick steel beams. He wished he had a flashlight.

_Well, maybe there's a way out through here…_

He felt a cool breeze sweep up from the darkness. Where there's a draft, there's an opening. So, Scout walked forward into the fuzzy blackness, keeping a hand on the wall to prevent him from losing his footing.

He didn't know how long he had been walking, but the ground finally leveled out. There was the faintest blue glow in the distance, and he was determined to reach it. He walked faster toward it, and realized that the glow was moving…

He approached a small opening, just big enough for someone to hunch through. Scout walked through the opening and into a small cavern.

"A spring?"

He was right. The shifting blue glow was none other than the reflections of the rippling water. Gentle light filtered down from above, dust motes drifting in the scattered beams. He looked up into the pale light, seeing faint cracks in the cave ceiling. Looking back down into the water, he could see right down to the bottom.

"Well, no one is down here. I might as well enjoy myself."

He stripped down to his boxers and jumped into the cool water. He was surprised to find that it was actually very deep, but the water was so clear that he still see the bottom. He came back up to the surface with a splash and wiped the water from his eyes.

"This is great! It's like my own personal swimming pool!"

He looked around the cavern. It was bigger than he thought it was. There was a curious arrangement of rocks in a different area of the cave. Scout, curious about them, climbed out of the water and walked over to them.

"Wait a sec…"

He rubbed his eyes and blinked, making sure that he wasn't just seeing things. What he thought were rocks were actually chairs arranged in a circle around a circular table with a broken leg. It was tipped on its side, and papers were scattered over the cave floor. He crouched down and picked up some of the papers, but they were all written in different languages. He frowned and set them aside, brushing over more papers and finding them all in different languages. As he shifted another pile of paper, a small black notebook caught his attention. It was bound in leather and had a lock on the golden latch, holding it closed.

"I wonder what this is?"

He picked it up, looking it over. The lock was an old key lock, looking like something on one of his sisters' diaries. He moved some of the papers around, searching for a key, but found nothing.

"Hmm…"

He looked around the old furniture, searching the cushions and underneath the chairs. He frowned and put his hands on his hips.

"Eh, forget it. I bet whoever had the key is long gone."

He dove back into the water, swimming along the bottom. He felt something cold and hard brush his fingertips, startling him and sending him back to the surface.

"The hell was that?"

He looked down to the bottom of the pool and spotted something gleaming in the shifting light. He dove back down and picked it up, wiping the water from his eyes once more as he took a gulp of air. He looked at the tiny object in his hand.

"Feh, figures the key would be at the bottom of the pool," he sighed, climbing back out of the water and back over to the circle of chairs. He picked up the book and fiddled with the lock for a few seconds before the key would turn. The lock clicked open and fell off the hinge, clattering loudly on the floor.

"Finally! I bet this is some broad's diary," Scout said, grinning as he opened the book. He was happy to find that it was written in English.

_My name is Ginger Zule, I'm the Scout of the Team Violet, and I'm writing this journal to help everyone who may be captured and held here like we have. Violet and Aqua have been at it for nearly a hundred years now. We've spent the last twenty piecing together what exactly we were doing here. It turns out, we're all just experiments for their technology, lab rats and nothing more. I've watched my family grow old and die, new technologies develop and old ones become obsolete. I've discovered bits and pieces of the way out of here in encoded messages located in the intelligence. Unfortunately, the intelligence papers only last until the end of the battle, and then they combust, which is why we never really see the documents. They're trying to keep the information from us. They're hiding the only way out of here without them finding you and killing you off so that you can't tell anyone about 2Fort._

Scout nearly dropped the book, his hands were shaking so badly.

_So that means Rick is…_

He felt his eyes stinging as tears started to drip down his cheeks.

"So big bro is dead, yeah? Well…that certainly explains why I haven't heard from him…"

Scout couldn't read anymore, not right now. He held the book under his arm and headed to gather his clothes. He looked around the cave and frowned, not finding any way back up other than back the way he came. He shook his head and wiped his eyes, sniffling.

_So how am I supposed to get out of here?_

He looked around the edges of the cavern, but found nothing. His hand brushed something that felt like a light switch and licked it up. A blast of cool air hit him as a portion of the stone wall slid upward. Scout looked in, where a flickering yellow light sat at the end of some kind of corridor. Dust flowed around his feet like water as he stepped inside. It considerably cooler here, so he threw on his shirt and pants before going any further.

After placing his cap over his head, he stepped forward, walking toward the faint light. When he came closer, the light turned out to be a kind of white flame that lit up a single lamp. Scout leaped backward, startled by the skeleton that held the lamp. He steadily inched closer, a bead of sweat dripping down his neck as he neared the gruesome sight. There was no smell, oddly enough, but the skeleton was sitting at a desk, the hand grasping the light, suspending it in midair like a macabre desk lamp. There was litter everywhere, but a single paper on the desk caught his attention. He looked it over, and found that it was a detailed drawing of 2Fort's blueprints, with different areas marked and circled, but they were all written in what looked like German.

_Did their medic draw this? Was he from Germany like our doc?_

He looked at the remains of the person holding the lamp, tattered bits of a faded violet uniform hanging from its ribs and shoulders. Scout could barely make out part of an emblem on a piece of the uniform, but he couldn't figure out what class it was. He looked at the corpse and frowned.

"I bet you were the guy who did this, yeah? How did you die? Are we outside the respawn limits? I wouldn't be surprised if we were, took me a while to get here."

He looked over the skeleton and found a hole through the back of the skull, but whether that was the entry or exit wound, he didn't know. He'd have to get Medic down here one of these days to see if he could tell. From what he heard, the guy used to be a mortician.

"Wow, shot in the head, huh?"

He looked down at the blueprints and picked them up. The paper was worn and yellowed, but otherwise in relatively good shape. He could make out the letters clearly, and the drawing was precise.

"Hmm…You guys were making a map, huh? I bet you had a nice edge on this Aqua team you were up against. I wonder if it was an Aqua that killed you…I bet this book tells the whole story of you guys. Maybe those papers by the spring say something important too…I'll have to get the others down here to see if they can read any of it. I don't want to end up like my brother…"

He smiled, realizing he was just talking to a corpse. He chuckled to himself and looked around the room. There was a bookshelf, an old pot of ink on the desk with a withered quill in it, and lots of dust. But nothing that looked like a possible entrance. He sighed and decided to take a look through the books when he felt a warm draft. He turned his face from side to side, feeling for the breeze. Yes, there it was again. It seemed to be coming from behind the bookshelf. He pressed his shoulder against it and managed to shift it aside slightly. He pressed his cheek against the gap between the shelf and the wall, and sure enough, he felt the warm draft again. He pushed the shelf further away from the wall and crawled behind it, finding an arched doorway. He opened stepped through it and pulled the shelf back, just in case.

He wandered the pitch-black corridor until he ran into a dead end. Pressing his hands on the wall, he could feel that it was steel. Maybe it was one of the wall panels in one of the bases. He pushed on it, and found that it creaked outward. He poked his head out and found himself inside the Silver base. He jaw dropped in awe.

_So it goes deep under the battlefield…from one base to the other. Were Aqua and Violet working together on this?_

He quietly stepped out of the secret passageway and closed it. He wondered to himself as the panel fit seamlessly in with the rest of the wall. It was genius. Scout snuck his way out of their base with no problems, running back to his own base. The sun was low in the sky. Pyro would be leaving with Spy on their date soon.

Speaking of which…

"Mademoiselle! It is I!"

"Just a minute Spy, I'll be out in a second!"

Pyro looked at herself in the mirror. She was never really one for dresses, but this one was pretty. It was black and had one strap on the left with a black rose pinned to it, the entirety of the dress sparkling with dark red glitter. She put a sparkly black bow in her hair, which she pulled back into a tight bun. She smiled at herself and opened the door. Spy stood in a black suit and tie, and smiled at her as he gave her a small bow.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded, giving him a soft smile. He took her hand and walked her out the back doors of the base, where a black car was waiting with its lights on. She walked to one side as Spy slipped into the driver's seat. After buckling in, he grinned and said, "You look absolutely radiant."

Pyro blushed slightly and thanked him. Spy chuckled and backed away from the base, heading for the gates. She shivered as that strange feeling coursed through her body as they left the respawn limits, driving down the dirt road that slowly turned into asphalt.

"I am glad zat you decided to accompany me zis evening, Pyro."

Pyro smiled. "I'm glad you asked."

Spy smirked and set the cruise control, steering the car smoothly with one hand, leaning back in his seat. Pyro noticed that he really didn't smell like smoke today. He actually smelled of expensive cologne and mint.

Once they reached the town, Spy pulled up behind a restaurant and pulled off his mask, revealing his angled features and dark hair slicked back smoothly with hair gel. He gave her a smile and ran a comb through his hair.

"You are ze first to see my face, _ma petit fleur._ I zink it only fair zat I allow you to see who I am after I 'ave known your identity for such a long time."

Pyro tried not to stare at him. His black hair and dark eyes accentuated his pale complexion and sharp face. She spotted a long, dark scar running across his left cheek, trailing down over his jaw. Pyro curiously dragged a fingertip over the jagged line.

"How did you get that?"

"What, zis? Hmph. Soldier 'accidentally' attacked me, shouting 'Spy check!' as his excuse. He attacked me because he was angry with me for helping you."

"He'll get his one of these days," Pyro said, frowning.

"Let us not worry about him, at the moment. We do not want to ruin our evening."

"Right, right, sorry," Pyro said, blushing in embarrassment.

"It is alright, petit. Let us get on with our evening."

Pyro nodded and stepped out of the car, smiling at Spy, who gave her a gentle grin. They walked around the car and to the front of the building, Spy taking her hand as they walked inside.

The two sat at a table for two near the back of the restaurant. Pyro was having trouble looking at Spy. His eyes would often catch hers, and she'd have a slight problem looking away. She didn't like to stare, and she didn't want to appear rude. Spy didn't mind. He thought it was cute that she couldn't keep looking at him.

After they ordered filet mignon and a bottle of red wine, Spy reached over the table and took her hand in his, the soft leather of his gloves sliding smoothly over her skin as he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Tell me, mademoiselle, are you enjoying this?"

"Well, yeah, of course I'm enjoying this. I've been taken to a restaurant before. Well, I've never been on a date before, period."

"Really? A lovely woman such as yourself has never been asked on a date?"

"Well, back where I came from, the guys were afraid of a girl who could kick their asses ."

Spy was quiet for a moment before breaking into laughter.

"R-Really? What manner of boys are zey?" he chuckled.

"Eh, mostly boys like Scout. Energetic sportsmen who blab their mouths unless you can prove them wrong and shut them up."

"I see," Spy laughed. "It is no wonder why you can put up with Scout better zan ze rest of us. You know 'ow to 'andle him."

"Yeah. It isn't hard."

Spy made a soft noise of disbelief.

"You would be surprised just how hard it is, cher. Ze boy is a walking loudspeaker who never shuts up, not to mention a source of boundless energy."

"Aw, you just have to know how to handle him."

"I am assuming zat you grew up in a similar part of America?"

"Yeah, I came from a city called St. Louis. Big city, full of troublemakers and guys like Scout, at least the part where I came from. I lived in the slums."

"I see. Zat would explain your durability."

Pyro smiled at him, the waiter returning with their meals.

"So, what do you zhink of Scout?"

"He's a good kid, just needs an outlet for his energy. If we'd take him to the baseball diamond more often, he might not be such a handful."

"And you know zis 'ow?"

"I'm the same way," she replied with a proud grin. "Ever notice how I disappear from time to time?"

"Yes."

"Well, I go out on a little run now and then to get rid of excess energy. Just last night, Scout and I spent some time playing baseball, and he wore himself out chasing after the ball. Not so much that he wouldn't be able to function in battle, but enough to make him mellow out for a little bit."

"Ah, so _zat's_ where you were last night."

"Yup. Needed the exercise, too."

"Ah, cheri, you do not need to be any fitter. You are beautiful as you are."

"That's sweet an' all, but I have to keep myself fit in case I have to run. I swear, the Silver Pyro is out for my blood."

"'E is jealous."

"Oh?"

"Oui. 'E knows 'ow much your teammates value you. You are an irreplaceable member of zis team, a real firebug. He is jealous of you, because 'is team does not treat 'im with ze same respect."

"And you know this how?"

Spy chuckled.

"I am ze Spy. How do you zink I know?"

Pyro nodded.

"True."

They ate in relative silence, Spy striking up small conversation here and there, asking what her home was like, who her parents were, even going so far as asking her real name, to which she responded only with a sly smirk.

As they got back in the car, Spy asked her another question.

"Pyro, are you aware zat ze Scout likes you?"

"Yeah."

Spy looked over at her and smiled as he slipped his mask back on.

"Do you like 'im as well?"

"Maybe a little."

"I see. Zen, why did you agree to come on zis date with me?"

"For the same reason you asked me."

Spy looked at her strangely. Was it really that obvious what he was doing?

"Mmm, so you wanted to make Scout gather 'is courage to ask you himself, oui?"

"That's right."

Spy chuckled.

"You are one of ze most interesting women I've 'ad ze pleasure of meeting."

"And you are one of the most conniving bastards I've ever known. But I like you, so that's okay."

Spy laughed as he pulled out of the parking lot. The drive back was relatively quiet. Pyro couldn't help but wonder if Spy was disappointed or impressed that her motives were just as underhanded as his. She had to admit, she liked the French rogue, and he seemed to like her just as well. He wasn't such a bad guy once you got to know him.

"Hey, Spy?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, if you ever wanted to go on a _real_ date, I'd be up for it."

Spy looked at her out of the corner of his eye, his mouth curving up into his signature smirk.

"But of course, petit."

Pyro smiled and turned to look out the window, but she slowly noticed how, as they neared the gates of 2Fort, the car slowed down. The car came to a stop just off the road.

"What's wrong? Why are we stopping?"

Spy put the car in park off the road, grinning slightly.

"For this."

Spy leaned over and, before she could react, planted a firm yet tender kiss on her lips. Pyro's eyes widened, but she slowly succumbed to the feeling and closed her eyes, savoring this little moment. When Spy pulled away, Pyro opened her eyes slowly and gave him a slightly confused look.

"Is somezhing wrong, cheri?"

"No…No, not at all," she said, smirking. "I'm just wondering why you stopped."

Spy smiled at her.

"I was unsure of your experience. I did not want you to be uncomfortable."

"I was uncomfortable at first, but I liked it."

Spy wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Zen perhaps I can treat you to a real kiss later, hmm?"

"Are you mocking me?" Pyro asked, grinning.

"Non, not at all," Spy replied, chuckling. He put the car in drive once more and drove through the gates, that strange tingling feeling sweeping over them as they re-entered the respawn limits.

After parking behind the base, they stepped out into the darkening sky, the first few stars gleaming in the fading light of the sun. Pyro hugged Spy, and he put his arm around her shoulders as they walked back into the base, only to find Scout running around frantically, calling for the both of them. When he caught sight of them, he charged toward them, panting.

"Guys! Man, am I glad to see you! You've got to see this!"

"Slow down, Scout, what's up?" Pyro asked, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Did something happen?"

"Fuck yeah, something happened! But I'm going to need, like, everyone else to come too! I found something' you ain't gonna believe!"

"What is zis somezing you 'ave discovered?" Spy asked, straightening his tie.

"I don't know, it's some kind of journal!"

Scout panted and leaned forward, glancing around for the Silver Spy before whispering, "I think I found the secret hideaway of an older team, a team that came before Shadow and Silver."

"What? But I was informed zat we were ze only elite teams brought to 2Fort, ever," Spy whispered back. "What proof do you 'ave of zis, 'other team'?"

"I'll be rounding up the others soon so I can take you all down there! You can see for yourself! There's a spring, old furniture, a broken table, and a bunch of papers written in different languages! This was the only thing I found written in English," Scout said, pulling the black notebook from under his arm.

"It was locked and everything, and it talks about some plan to escape here without being killed," he said, handing the book to Spy, who opened it and flipped through the pages. He looked up at scout and snapped the book shut, putting it in his jacket.

"I will see what information I can learn from zis book. Meanwhile, if what you say is true, zen you and Pyro should both go to find ze others. When and where will we be meeting?"

"Out in the barn, behind the hay bales, in one hour."

"Very well zen. I will meet you there."

He nodded to the both of them before strolling down the hall toward his room. Scout looked at Pyro, noticing her formal attire.

"You look great!" he said.

"Oh, thanks," Pyro said, smiling. "But, before we go and get the rest of the team, I'd like to change into something a little more suitable for crawling around in secret passageways."

"Oh yeah, sure."

Pyro waved as she walked to her room. Scout took off down the hall to try and find the other members of their team.

After changing quickly into her suit, she walked out the door, flamethrower in hand. It never hurt to carry a weapon around, especially one that struck fear into even the most hardened Heavy. Speaking of which, he was wandering down the hall in his boxers, rubbing the back of his head and looking behind him every so often. She lifted her mask just above her mouth.

"Heavy? Are you alright?"

"Da, just got thrown out of kitchen by Doktor…"

"Ah. Hey, have you run into Scout?"

"Yes, he started talking really fast, and then ran off to find Sniper before I could ask him to repeat himself. Does leetle Pyro know what he was blabbering about?"

"Yeah, we're having a team meeting out in the barn in an hour. Be there."

"Da, Heavy will be there. Why is Pyro all dressed in suit? Checking for enemy Spy?"

"Nah, just being prepared."

"Ah. Well, I will talk to you in barn. Until then, Heavy will hide from Doktor…He is mad about something and will not tell me…"

"Hmm, you said he was in the kitchen?"

"Da, but don't-"

"See you later Heavy!" Pyro said, running off and pulling her mask down.

Heavy shook his head as he lumbered back to his room to get dressed.

"Leetle Pyro will be in big trouble if she goes into kitchen with Doktor. He is not very happy…"

Pyro rushed down the hall, though Heavy's comment about checking for the enemy Spy weighed on her mind until she let out a few experimental puffs of flame as she walked to the kitchen. She heard shouting coming from within and the sounds of pots and pans clanging over the floor. She frowned and walked in as Soldier and Demo stumbled out. Medic's angry voice rang out into the hall as they ran away.

"Wer hat es? Wer hat meine besondere Wodka? Antworte mir, Du verdammtes Arschloch! Ich töte den Idioten, die es getrunken hat!"

Pyro looked into the kitchen as an empty vodka bottle shattered on the floor at Medic's feet. She scowled and took off her mask, stomping into the kitchen.

"Get out, dummkopf!"

"Hey! Cool it, hot head! What's got you so upset?"

"Someone drank my 80-proof Stolichnaya Elit! The bottle vas completely empty!"

Pyro looked at him, then started laughing.

"That bottle of vodka in the cabinet? No one drank it, Doc, I just put it in a less conspicuous bottle so that Demo wouldn't be tempted!"

"Vhat? Then vhere is it?"

"Top shelf, fourth cabinet on the left, green bottle with a blue cork in it."

The Medic turned and started digging through the cabinets to find that she was right. He uncorked the green bottle from the top shelf and sniffed it. Yes, that was indeed his expensive vodka. He looked at her before taking a swig of it, relishing the burn of the alcohol in his throat before corking it and putting it back.

"Ah…Sorry, fraulein…You know your way around this kitchen better than any of us. I should probably have asked you first…"

Medic scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Pyro put her hands on her hips and sighed.

"It's alright, but next time, don't trash the kitchen, please? I don't care how angry you are, don't go throwing pots and pans and glass bottles all over the place. Now clean this up and meet us in the barn in an hour. Team meeting."

"Team meeting? Very vell, I vill be there."

"Alright."

She grabbed the broom and dustpan from the corner and handed it to him. He sheepishly began sweeping up the mess of glass on the floor as Pyro slipped her mask on and walked out of the kitchen, bumping into Demo.

"Now who knew a wee lass like yerself could handle an angry Medic? I'll have t'remember ya when I need to calm 'im down!" he laughed. "Oh, what is this I be hearin' of a team meetin'?"

"We're all meeting in the barn in an hour."

"Aye, but what fer?"

"You'll see. According to Scout, it's really important."

Demo laughed.

"Everythin' to that lad is important! But I'll humor 'im. I'll meet you in the barn, then."

"Good. See you then."

"Aye."

Pyro looked around, but didn't find Soldier anywhere.

_Hmph. I hope he gets the message. I didn't want to talk to him anyway._

Pyro wandered through the base, making sure everyone she ran into knew about the meeting. After an hour of patrolling the halls and making sure the Silver Spy wasn't lurking around, she walked out to the barn where the rest of the team was waiting. Scout was standing next to one of the piles of loose hay behind the stacked bales. He was showing the others something hidden by the pile.

"I fell down here a while ago and found a tunnel under 2Fort!"

Pyro walked up next to Scout and looked down in the hole, where a cool draft of air was wafting up from below.

"Well? You gonna show us where it is, then?" Pyro asked, looking up at him.

"Hell yeah, I am!"

"I don't know, Herr Scout…This seems a bit dangerous," Medic said. "Vhat happens if ve get trapped down there?"

"There's a way back up, through the Silver Base!" Scout said, beaming. "It's behind one of their wall panels! But if we want to get back out this way, we'll have to stand on each other's shoulders or something, 'cause it's kind of a long drop."

The team looked at each other before Pyro looked down into the hole.

"Well, this place isn't going to explore itself! Come on guys!"

She lowered herself down through the hole, her gloved hands the last thing anyone saw of her until she hit the bottom and lit up the darkness with the little blue flame at the front of her weapon.

"Come on down, guys! It feels nice down here!"

Scout leaped down into the hole and landed next to Pyro, brushing the dirt off his pants as he stood up. Medic and heavy followed soon after, and then Spy and Demo. Sniper slipped down after Demo wriggled through the hole, but Soldier was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is Soldier? Will he be coming?" Heavy asked, looking up through the hole.

"Nah, he went to bed before I could talk to him," Scout said, frowning. "So he's just going to miss out on all the fun."

With that, Scout started forward, with Pyro close behind him to light the way. Spy took a quick look around to make sure no one else was missing before taking up the rear of the group.


	5. Chapter 5

"This way, guys!"

Scout ran ahead of the group, leading them down the sloped dirt path under 2Fort. Spy walked cautiously ahead of Pyro, who would blow a puff of flame every now and then just to check behind them. The last thing they needed was the enemy Spy dropping in on them. Scout was all too eager to run the team at full speed all the way to the spring, but because both she and Spy was very cautious, they got separated into smaller groups. Medic, Engie and Sniper were fighting to keep up with Scout, Heavy and Demo were lagging behind them, and Spy was bringing up the rear with Pyro. They kept each other company, chatting in hushed tones to ease the eerie silence that followed when Heavy and Demo disappeared ahead of them.

"So, did you find out anything new from that little journal?" Pyro asked, glancing behind her.

"Nozhing zhat I couldn't take for face value, I am afraid," Spy replied grimly. "It seems to be zhe last words of a scout who may or may not have actually made it out alive."

"Well, THAT bodes well for us, doesn't it?" Pyro chuckled nervously.

Spy gave her a smirk.

"I am certain zhat, if zhey failed, we will find a way to do what zhey could not."

"Let's hope so...I don't want to be here forever."

"Neizher do I, petit."

The two followed in the footsteps of the others until the sounds of gunfire could be heard resonating from ahead. Surprised shouts and pained cries for help echoed from the darkness, startling them both. Pyro hurried forward while Spy disappeared and ran behind her. The angry roar of flames spewing from her flamethrower could be heard before Spy was close enough to see the glow of the fire reflected in a pool of water. Muzzle flashes lit up the cavern like lightning, the gunfire deafening as it bounced around the room. The few pieces of decaying furnature had been upturned into a makeshift barracade, in front of which were the bodies of the Medic and Demoman. What concerned Spy the most, however, was the fact that they were not respawning.

"Pyro! Get behind wall!"

In the moment that Pyro turned to run, buckshot planted itself in her left shoulder, knocking her forward and onto the floor. She winced as she felt the mangled flesh bleeding into her suit, desperately army-crawling her way to the barrier. A massive hand reached out from behind the barricade and grabbed her uninjured arm, pulling her in.

"Son of a bitch!"

Scout tore off his black uniform shirt and wadded it up against the front of her shoulder, pressing it against the wound.

"Why did you run out there like that? You coulda' been killed!"

"And eye for an eye, right?"

"What?"

Pyro chuckled before hissing in pain.

"Ah...I got the fucker."

"Who?"

"Soldier. That sonovabitch won't be coming back to try again."

"Wait, Soldier was in there? That traitor!"

"Nah, you got it wrong. We're the traitors. I knew as soon as my flamthrower lit them up."

"Who?"

"The Announcer and her cronies are back there. They knew we'd be here. I think Soldier probably knew as soon as Scout said something."

"Attention mercenaries!"

A tense hush fell over the dark cavern. That cold, unfeeling voice was harsh and demanding through the loudspeaker it was amplified through.

"You have to the count of three before my soldiers come over there and kill every one of you. If you come out quietly, I'll be sure to have your bodies sent back to your homes, postage pre-paid, of course."

Pyro lifted her flamethrower feebly and grunted a loud, "Fuck you!" in response.

"Suit yourself."

"Get ready guys. Looks like this is our last stand."

"Oh no, I ain't getting killed now! Not when there's so many questions still unanswered!"

Scout jumped up as the pounding of boots echoed through the room.

"Eat lead, losers!"

He laughed as they fought to keep track of him. He took pot-shots at them as he whizzed around and between them, causing some of them to fire at their own teammates.

"What's the matter, punks? Can't hit what ain't there!"

He managed to stall for time while Heavy revved up the minigun.

"This is for Doktor. Yaaaaaa!"

He popped up from behind the barricade and rained lead down on the small team of soldiers. One managed to fire a shot that peppered Heavy's jacket with lead pellets, but otherwise didn't harm the bigger man.

"Miss, they're dropping like flies. What should we do?"

The Announcer sucked on a cigarette, the smoke billowing out of her sharply-pointed nose.

"Call in the Silvers. Let them know that they can finally settle the score on more permanent terms if they get down here ASAP."

"Yes ma'am."

"In the mean time, retreat. Draw them into the back tunnels, toward the Silver base. Lose them at the junction, then bring the Silvers in from the end of the passage. They won't make it back out to the surface."

"Of course, ma'am."

Heavy continued to spray lead in the direction of their attackers until the soldiers had been cut down. Blood was pooling on the floor of the cavern, and he panted as his own bruises and bullet wounds were beginning to affect him.

"Where's Spah?" Engie asked, tinkering with something in the dark.

"He was behind me," Pyro said, tying Scout's shirt around her shoulder like a makeshift bandage.

"I bet he wussed out and ran away," Scout huffed, only to let out an ear-shattering scream when the ghost of a hand grabbed his shoulder. Scout leaped several feet away, trembling as the Spy crouched down beside Pyro with a soft chuckle.

"You mother-"

"Oh hush. Now is not zhe time."

Scout bit his tongue, crossing his arms defiantly.

"I'll say what I want, when I wa-"

"Madamoiselle, are you alright? I'm sorry I could not help sooner. I had to wait until she sent out her soldiers before I could act."

"What did you do?"

Spy chuckled.

"I slipped behind zheir lines and listened in on zheir plan. Zhere's a junction ahead, according to her. Zhe passage zhat Scout told us about will be blocked by zhe Silvers once we get zhere, which means zhat zhere is anozher way out."

"Another way?" Scout asked. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get out of here!"

Engie looked up.

"I thought we were gonna try an' figure out what exactly went on here, boy. You givin' up, just like that?"

Scout stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Don't think I ain't curious about it an' all...But, I figure, we know enough that the Announcer is willing to come here and kill anyone who plots to escape. I just wanna go home at this point."

"Scout's got a point. Things are hairy enough as it is. We should let the dead sleep, ya' know?" Pyro said softly. "Maybe the Silvers will come down here and find this stuff, and they can figure it out from there. Unless the Announcer has them in her pocket."

Engie sighed.

"I guess you're right...Well, we won't be gettin' anywhere near home if we don't move out."

Spy took Pyro's hand, helping her up. Scout grabbed her other hand, also helping to lift her up.

"Hey, how you doin'? Does it hurt much?"

Pyro laughed and blew her hair out of her face.

"I've had worse. Since Medic won't be helping us anymore, we should get out of here as fast as possible. I don't want to die from bloodloss, ya' know? Would be a terrible way to go out."

Scout nodded and helped her hobble away after the others. Spy brought up the rear this time, chuckling to himself as he kept an eye on them.

"I see junction! But...which way to go?"

Heavy stood and waited for the others to catch up. Engie scratched his head, and Scout looked from side to side. There were two tunnels. He knew the left one led to the room with the moving bookcase, but the other, he hadn't explored.

"To the right! Let's go!"

"Scout is sure?"

"Positive!"

They moved together as a group, keeping an eye on everyone, for everyone. Spy was listening intently for anything that could give away the location of the enemy team. He could almost hear their eager shouts and tramping feet just beyond the tunnel walls.

"We should be quiet. We don't want zhem to realize zhat we've fooled zhem."

Pyro nodded, hobbling along with Scout to support her. Her boots felt heavier than usual, and her stomach grumbled loudly.

"Let's just hurry up and get out of here. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. And bleeding. Bleeding is bad."

"Ain't NOTHIN' gonna happen to ya, alright? I'll bash every Silver head that pops up if they so much as-"

"Shh!"

Scout bit his tongue, but otherwise kept quiet for the time being. He was feeling anxious - maybe a little scared - for Pyro's sake. She was bleeding pretty bad, that rubber suit doing nothing to protect against bullets as well as it did against fire. Her brow was beaded with sweat, and it was clear that she was having trouble breathing. If only Medic were here, he would know what to do. Scout looked around at the other members of his team, to see how they were holding up. Heavy seemed to be pretty banged-up too, with trickles of blood smearing across his arms and the side of his face. Luckily, his bulletproof vest seemed to have held up pretty well against the barrage of bullets that had assaulted him. Spy seemed to be perfectly fine, if maybe a bit flustered by this change of events. Engie was fine too, though it seemed a bullet had ricochetted against his helmet and set it askew.

Scout opened his mouth to say something - anything - to try and reassure Pyro that everything would be okay. For once, however, he couldn't find the right words to say. Everything that came to mind sounded overly hopeful, or too optimistic. He knew things could get sour really fast. Pyro faltered in her stride, and Scout nearly tripped trying to keep her up. She swept her bangs aside with an apologetic grin.

"Sorry. Whoever got me, got me good. I can feel the bandage getting wetter."

"H-Hold up!"

Scout whispered to get the others' attention, but they didn't hear. Spy stopped when he saw Scout pause.

"What's wrong?" he asked, Scout kneeling down and letting Pyro rest for a moment.

"She's hurtin' bad."

"We need to get 'er out of 'ere."

Angry voices could be heard shouting out behind them, echoing off the tunnel walls. Scout and Spy looked at each other in the darkness, with Pyro's ragged breathing between them.

"What do we do, man? She can't move fast enough to outrun 'em..."

Spy looked down the tunnel, trying to figure out just how much time they had before getting overrun by the Silvers.

"We may be able to get 'er out of 'ere, but it will require teamwork. I can carry 'er legs if you can carry 'er torso. We will need to move quickly."

Scout bared his teeth in frustration, looking down.

"Shit...Alright. Alright, let's do this."

He lifted Pyro up, her suit slick with the blood from her bullet wound. She didn't struggle. In fact, she had her eyes closed and was trying to conserve her energy. This made it easier for Spy to lift up her legs and carry her between them.

"Let's get moving."

Scout kept pace with the Spy for once, knowing that jostling her around too much could further aggravate the injury. They were able to catch up to the others in no time, but the pounding of heavy footsteps could be heard behind them.

"Move!"

The Spy's coice echoed through the tunnel, and everyone turned to look at him. They then turned around and started running toward the end of the tunnel. At the other end, the light from a headlamp was cutting through the darkness.

"Over here, boys! We've got 'em runnin' like a bunch of wussies!"

The thick southern accent was anything but comforting, coming from the other team's Engineer. Someone opened fire and bullets started embedding themselves in the tunnel walls.

"Shit, man! What are we gonna' do?" Scout asked, picking up the pace.

"We keep moving, and try to catch up. We are almost there."

There was banging coming from up ahead, and when they finally caught up to the rest of the team, they found out why.

"We are trapped!"

Heavy gave a frustrated roar and tried to pummel the pile of boulders that were blocking the way.

"Why did Demo have to go and git himself killed?" Engie huffed. "Now would be a great time for those bombs of his."

Heavy's knuckles bled from the effort he was putting into moving the rocks, but it was all in vain. His broad shoulders heaved as he panted.

"Must be way through!" he growled, turning to the others. "Leetle Engineer! You can build something to break through?"

"'Fraid not, pardner. I have no tools to work with, and nothin' to build anythin' out of."

Heavy looked around frantically.

"Spy! You have ideas?"

Spy set Pyro down, leaving her in the care of the Boston boy. He strode over to the rock pile, looking it over and pushing on different rocks with his hands.

"I can't feel anything budging...Zhere must be more boulders beyond zhese, or perhaps a lot of dirt."

He scratched the side of his face, the balaclava wrinkling and stretching around his gloved fingers.

"We could try to dig our way out, but...zhat would take more time zhan we have."

"We try anyway!" Heavy boomed, grabbing hold of some of the rocks and pulling on them. With this, it was quickly discovered that while they could not be easily pushed, they came loose with relative ease when pulled on. This bolstered the team's enthusiasm for freedom, and those who could would pitch in and grab whatever rocks they could get their hands on. The rock wall was gradually shuffling inward, and after a few moments, cool air wafted in from between the rocks after making a three-foot dent in the wall.

"We are almost out!" Spy breathed, his clothes dirty with mud and dust. From behind them, a few gunshots echoed in the tunnel.

Heavy gave another roar and rammed his fist right through the hole, clawing his way out and into the open air. The rest of the team followed suit, Scout and Spy dragging Pyro with them.

"Hang on, man. You're gonna' be okay! We're gonna' be-"

"Oh merde..."

Spy dropped onto his knees and put his hands up. Scout turned and looked to see a group of armed guards just lying in wait for them behind a rock wall. The Announcer stood up, two of her guardsmen standing with her with bulletproof shields.

"Ahem. Congratulations on escaping. Now, if you would please turn around and face your deaths with some dignity, we'll wrap things up here."


	6. Epilogue

**Year 1, day 348**

_I've been with Shadow for almost 2 years, now. Can you imagine? I have a hard time believing it myself, sometimes. Last night, I found out that Scout had discovered some weird base underground. In reality, it was more like a system of caves and tunnels outfitted for living to some degree. We explored them, and Spy said something about there being a team before us. Scout said the journal he found belonged to another Scout; the one that came before him._

_God, I wish I was writing about this under better circumstances...We got cornered between the Silvers and the Administrator's forces. Spy somehow managed to talk them into taking us into custody, rather than killing us off right there. Unfortunately, he only postponed our deaths. They let us go back and clear out our things, but they made Silver do it, too. Something about permanently moving them to another facility. Regardless, the rest of us were put on death row. I'm writing in the hopes that someone will find this someday. Someone has to know that we were here. Don't let them wipe out whatever was going on here. Don't let them forget about us...We lived._

_I don't want to die! I'll be given my last meal on Monday...I don't have much time left here. Somebody, anyboody...Please, you have to stop them! Scout figured it out before Spy did, surprisingly. So, naturally, they killed him first. We only got to spend three days together, in cells next each-others'. We kept telling each other that it would be okay. He held my hand before they came for him. He told me everything, how he had feelings for me and would always have them, until they fried his brains out. Even as they took him away, I could still hear him repeating, "Everything will be okay, man. Don't worry."_

_I wish I shared his enthusiasm..._

_They're running some kind of sick sideshow here. They used us like lab rats, to test weapons and devices that would never actually be used in real warfare. The war they had us fighting in? Bogus. It was a clever ruse; nothing more than a reason to keep us hating each other year after year._

_Shit, they're coming for Sniper...Apparently, he was an escaped convict before coming here, and upon being "discharged", the Australian government wanted him back to pay for his crimes in their own row. I feel sorry for him, and envious. At least he gets to see his home one more time before he dies._

**Year 1, day 349**

_I've heard rumors that Mann Co. called for the early release of someone today. I didn't get any more info than that. Someone actually got pardoned, and early this morning, he was taken out of his cell. Sniper was deported not too long ago. I don't know why I'm bothering to write in this diary anymore. It seems hopeless at this point._

**Year 1, day 350**

_Tomorrow is my last day...God give me strength._

_Don't let them take me away._

_Don't let them take me away._

_Don't let them take me away._

_Please._

_I'm sorry everyone._

...

The little brown book snapped shut, the gold lock clicking one last time before being slid into a pocket beneath a navy-blue vest. A leather-clad hand pulled out a beat-up silver case with the words, "_Ne jamais oublier ce qui se cachait dans l'ombre_" carved haphazardly into the metal. It clicked open, and from within came a single cigarette. Dry, pale lips wrapped around the cigarette as calm hands lifted a lighter to the end, setting it ablaze for a moment before burning down to a bright cherry. The Spy frowned as thoughts whirled through his head. He had managed to talk to a few people with his last phone call, and had been given a pardon to walk, so long as he continued to work for Mann Co. However, it came at a much greater cost, and before they could clear out her cell, he slipped inside and made off with that little diary that Pyro had been writing in.

"I'm sorry too, _ma petit fleur_..."

He fought back tears as the smoke stung his eyes, a backdraft of wind blowing it into his face. Staring down the train tracks outside Teufort, he could hear a low whistle as two new teams of mercenaries were making their way to the facility. He turned toward the wooden building, hastily and sloppily painted over with an insignia for BLU. The spent cigarette dropped from his mouth, and he ground it out in the dust before walking inside to begin his new career as the BLU Spy, swearing under oath that he would never again discuss anything that had been built beneath the compound.

After all, there was nothing down there.

[A/N] Congratulations! You've finished reading "Of Shadows and Silver". You may direct all of your angry letters and unfollows into the bin to your right. Thank you for reading, and have a nice day!


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